The Untold Adventure
by Fire and Ice equals Slush
Summary: This is a decent crossover story of all the Miyzaki movies. When Bou goes missing and Haku is nowhere to be found, Chihiro, Howl, Haru, and the Cat Bureau embark on an epic rescue mission. However, the case is more dangerous than they could ever imagine.
1. Chapter 1

Good morning, good evening, good night, whichever the case may be while you are reading this story.

Some notes for you, the reader:

One, I am assuming you have seen most of the Miyzaki movies; Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, the Cat Returns, to name a few. If you have not seen ANY ONE of these movies above you PROBABLY won't know understand what is going on. This is a frightening clash of MOST of the Studio Ghibli movies directed by Miyzaki. If you are afraid of crossovers: run… like… heck…

Two, I based most of my writing from the Disney produced English-dubbed versions. Some references are made from the Japanese original version. But since the movies are creditable dubs, it really doesn't matter. Some stuff, such as Howl's Moving Castle, is more based on the novel (such as Howl's more striking personality, that Howl was born in Whales, etc) while the plot and storyline is better based on the animated feature. Also, some stuff might be from the original Cat Returns manga that might have not been used in the movie.

Three, this story is solid. No suggestions to mold the story or constructive criticism will be needed if it focuses on the storyline. I find myself a fairly decent writer, but if my story does not please your tastes then please, DO NOT FLAME FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER. And everything is spell-checked and in correct format so I saved any anonymous scumbag the trouble of getting this story deleted by the board.

Four, I hope you will enjoy my fic. I put in a lot of effort into it.

And now, without further ado, I present to you, "The Untold Adventure." Please enjoy.

………………………………………..

Chapter 1 Letters in Velvet

"Must you continue? I really abhor cigar smoke."

"Oh shut up, Howl," Yubaba hissed. "You know this is magic sedative."

The old witch took a long, deep draw out of her cigar, sighing with hearty pleasure as if to pester her guest. She opened her gaping mouth to let the oddly colored smoke billow out.

"You seem abnormally vexed," Howl answered bringing his long sleeve to his mouth and using the other to bat away at the smoke around him like a nasty animal.

She leaned farther back into her chair. Times were difficult for the revered owner of the local bathhouse right smack in the middle of the spirit world. And she ruled it with an iron fist.

However, something unusual was afoot and her large nose could smell it.

"How is that blasted castle of yours?" Yubaba asked hoping that Howl's life was just as difficult as hers was these days.

Howl, sensing the change in subject and her lack of an answer, leaned forward, his sleeves almost dragging onto the lavishly designed carpet.

"Fairing well," he finally answered.

"And that _human_ girl you call a bride?" she spat wrinkling her nose.

"Lovely as ever," he answered sharply with a cat's grin.

"And what of that terrifying little brat that followed your coattails? Eh? Wasn't he your apprentice or something? He always seemed more like a little rat you picked up off the street," she cackled like oil popping on a hot surface.

"Markyl," he stated in his soft, hypnotic voice he saves for special occasions, "is well. And what, pray tell, of your apprentice?"

This struck Yubaba back and her long fingers nails dug into her cigar, its cinders falling onto her dress. She didn't feel like mentioning that accursed little… Haku who ran off. She would die with a stake in her heart before admitting that to her old friend.

"Bou is my apprentice now," she muttered quickly. Too quickly.

"Bou? Your infant son?" Howl whispered eyes widened, in his playful tone. "To take on a son, much less an infant, is highly unusual Yubaba. Intriguing, but unusual. What's gotten into you?" he chuckled.

"He's my darling little angel, and don't you forget that!" she replied hastily pointing her cigar threateningly to Howl's brow. She stiffly brushed the cigar ashes from her dress. "Besides, he's far a better listener than my previous… or your rat for that manner."

Howl smiled and gently lowered his glass to Yubaba's table. "I am deeply sorry, I am pressed for time, and Sophie awaits," he cooed pushing his chair back.

"Is that her name?" Yubaba grinned showing all her yellow teeth. "Stop right there, Howl, I'll have Bou escort you out."

"Oh, thank you my dear Yubaba, but I know my own way out," he replied glancing toward the tall, open window.

"Not a chance, Howl! You want to go flutter-fluttery out my window and leave feathers and dirt everywhere in my office. No. Bou will send you out," she stated firmly, although Howl upon first look would seem an extraordinarily clean and well-kept man. His image practically glittered. "Bou? Bou sweetie?" Yubaba called out into the halls.

"I thank you for your trouble, but I really can just—"

"That wouldn't be courteous of me! Bou! Bou, where are you?" Yubaba called once more.

"Yubaba, I'm really just—"

"**BOU! ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW**!" she screamed frantically, and Howl realized the seriousness of the situation and as if on cue, spread his long, black bird wings.

"**BOU!**" the shout was like the starting pistol for the two.

They rushed through the hallways and through the rooms where guests were bathing and staff were taking inventory. Gusts of wind swept through the bath house as Howl trailed Yubaba, now a hysteric frenzy.

The last time she though she lost her darling son, she almost blew the bath house down. But that was before Haku informed her that her baby was safe with her twin sister Zeniba. Now, Zeniba hardly talks with her sister and Haku isn't around anymore to tell her where her child is.

She flew across the rooms, opening doors, closing doors. All the while, like a winged shadow, Howl followed. Bou wasn't anywhere.

"**Bou! Bou, come out! Oh please come out**!" she shrieked. No force on this plane could stop her riling power except the voice of Howl. She halted abruptly.

"I said, over here Yubaba!"

Her hand flew to the doorknob and swung open the door to find…

Howl, her old friend she met a long time ago as witch and wizard… standing behind a long dagger with dragons elegantly carved on the handle—a handsome dagger for it to be so thrust violently into the wooden door. It served a good purpose, to hold in place a patterned envelope.

Howl withdrew the dagger from the door and delicately fingered the letter, clenched his teeth on the satin ribbon and gently pulled it out. He opened the letter…

The inside of the envelope was dark blue velvet holding in place a piece of parchment with such beautiful English lettering embossed in gold.

Howl read out loud.

"Dearest Madam Yubaba,

Your son is in good hands. He will have to stay with us for a while. Do not try anything witchy like sending an army of those ghastly demons because we do not respond so well with such matters. You will be hearing from us around the time of the summer festival. Enjoy the fireworks.

From,

A friend

A well-acquainted familiar

A threat."

The guests of the bathhouse could feel the rooms shaking with the witch's fury and grief.

……………………………………..

"So what do you make out of this, Baron?"

"I haven't the slightest."

"Baron…"

The handsome, golden haired cat turned, his whiskers stirring.

"I take it that this matter upsets you?"

"Well, It's not everyday that someone walks up to you and says, "Hey! There's a ghost sitting on top of you!" Haru sighed.

"Was there really?"

"Well, it did feel kind of chilly," she shivered. "And creepy, but I didn't see anything. And the feeling left when I… um… swatted at my head a little. I don't know. She told me to. And after that, the girl walked away before I could find out who she was."

"That's um… interesting," his little doll heart couldn't tell her his disbelief.

"You think I'm crazy, don't you Baron?" she faced him, his coattails twitched.

"Not at all," he said with a charming smile. "I don't think you should worry yourself about this. I am quite sure that such things as "the living dead" do not exist."

Haru smiled. She's always had a little crush on Baron, ever since he helped her in the Cat Kingdom where she was almost to be married to a cat—and turned into one! She admitted her little aspiration, but he never spoke of the matter itself. But he was enjoyable to talk to after school whenever something weird came along.

At least this beats talking about Machida's new girlfriend or the latest escapade of her friend Hiromi's daring flirtation with Tsuge.

"And I enjoy a good tête-à-tête every now and then," he said with a tip of his hat as he ushered her out the door.

She was just about to crouch down and wiggle out of the tiny miniature house when she stopped.

"Wait! Why would a ghost want to sit on my head anyway?"

White ears twitched from behind the couch as the large cat, Muta, turned his head back towards the girl.

"Maybe, your head makes a nice cushion," he grumbled.

"Muta," Baron lectured in almost a bored tone. "That was uncalled for."

"What? She's annoying you to! Don't deny it, Baron. All this talk of ghosts and stuff. I'm just worried about my next meal."

"Oh, I'm sorry Baron." Her shoulders drooped.

"No, no! Don't be. It's all right," he smiled. "You can always come here to talk."

"Don't mind him," a voice fluttered from above. It was Toto, the Cat Bureau's resident magpie. "_He_ would make a nice meal for some ghosties," his beak pointed at Muta.

The couch's overwhelming burden was lifted, as Muta rose from his seat.

"_Exuse_ me?"

"I'm sorry, a nice _feast_," Toto corrected himself. "Of course, they would have to haul you to some dark forest—which would be quite a feat. I applaud them," he cawed.

"It hasn't happened yet, bird brain! I mean, it's not going to happen-!"

"They'll roast you on a spit with walnuts and a nice honey paste," sang Toto dancing like a black ribbon in the wind.

At that, Muta leaped from the ground.

"WE'RE HAVING KFC TONIGHT!"

……………………………………….

In truth, Chihiro's experience in the spirit world changed her.

She started just an ordinary ten year old girl—lazy, rambunctious, the whole package.

Then, she tread where no human was supposed to, into an enchanted land chock full of spirits, witches, demons, gods, the lot. She became a Yuna and served in the bath house for spirits to replenish. It was difficult, but she managed to survive. And she made a lot of friends.

Now, she returned to the life she left behind. She changed a lot since then. Now she wasn't too afraid of her new school, too upset over everything. Yes, it stumped her parents but they weren't particularly bright to speak upon it. They shrugged it off like it was all part of growing up or something.

Haku told her not to look back, but she can't help it sometimes. Chihiro wonders where he had disappeared to and when he was going to come back for her and whisk her away into that starry night.

Perhaps it was just a dream, she thought some nights. Then she reaches into her hair and feels for the thin elastic band tying her thick ponytail up and remembers.

The time in the spirit world has heightened her sixth sense. By eating their food and breathing their air, she attained some interesting qualities. Although they were not as plentiful as in the spirit world, and more dumb and sluggish, she could see them. And it was hard to keep it inside.

If only Haku was around for her to talk to, to share the burden.

Why hasn't he come for her yet? What happened to her master, her true love, her dragon prince?

The sickly heartache dunked her mind in a syrupy haze making her feel faint every time she had some downtime to herself from school or her parents. Being alone with her thoughts was hard on her, both physically and mentally, like she left part of herself back there on the other side of the tunnel serving food to ghosts and playing with Noh-face, Bou, and Zeniba, and flying atop of the world from that scaly back and leaving all her troubles behind. No matter how much she tried to immerse herself with the current affairs, life was growing dull, bleak, and cold.

And alarming—she is missing a part of her heart and she's not even sure if he's alive. Is it possible for a child to have such blind faith, such compassion, such wanting? The connection feels faint and dismal, but she stumbles to follow it with aching legs.

"A window?"

She turns to her right and sees where the feeling has led her.

A shop window with many porcelain nick-nacks, wooden animal carvings, and tiny glass creatures stood there, calling her.

Where did she last feel that feeling? Oh yes, by the red tunnel that led to the spirit world. This time it was the same tugging feeling but different destination.

She put her nose to the window, her warm breath fogged the glass in the rainy weather. A tiny wooden door the size of a picture frame was displayed atop of the lavender spread.

"How weird…" she mumbled.

"You've got to crack it," came a voice at her feet. "That is, the glass."

Chihiro looked down around her to find a tiny person in a bright red dress and flowery bonnet. This person didn't even come up to her knees.

"Are you another ghost?" Chihiro asked.

"Shocking," clucked the figure's little white face. "But I don't take offense. Where do you wander?"

"I'm trying to find someone," Chihiro admitted, peering over the large white ears and furry tail of her addresser. It was clearly a cat head with a human body—woman, by the soft tone of voice.

"Well, you certainly stumbled onto the right place," she chuckled as she gently pulled up a tiny umbrella with delicate gloved hands and tapped at the glass. At its tiny touch, the window shattered into pieces.

Chihiro, too young to curse, gasped and rubbed at her eyes which stung with glass. Oddly enough, the tiny shards became soft and shapeless as it gathered and billowed out of her eyelashes like cold mist.

She looked up and squinted as the glass window was still there. However, the people that were about her shopping and talking were not and neither was the tiny cat woman. And it strangely stopped raining as well.

She heard muffled voices behind her and turned to see a tiny house that came up a little above her forehead. A large, black bird whooshed out from the inside of the house and landed on a lamp post.

"Cheeky cat," it cawed as he hopped in place, struggling to take a good hold of the post. He turned back to the house and sing-songily chirped, "Plushy pillow pussy cat!"

Was it just smiling? And it talked! The bird didn't notice the shocked girl who hid behind a pillar that held up what used to be a shoe store—which is now empty and dark.

A large white cat ran out and skid against the damp pavement.

"Get back here you bird brain!" it shouted angrily. It said many other unkind words that should have not entered the young girl's ears until an aristocratic British voice from the inside called out, "I thought I felt a gust, Muta. Would you mind checking about to see if someone wandered in?"

Chihiro's eyes widened as she held her knees closed to her, trembling. She could hear the cat's heavy but soft steps as it came closer to the pillar she was hiding behind.

Any closer now.

With each step.

The sound stopped…

Chihiro turned her head slightly to see a huge white grinning face in front of her.

"Found you."

Chihiro screamed.

………………………………….

R&R

Thank you for reading my fic it will be continued as soon as possible.

The receiving of abundant and delightful reviews will aid the process of speeding up the update.


	2. Paths Cross: The Violin's Prelude

Such wonderful reviews! And I had almost forgot why I loved writing fanfiction so much! Thank you!

Chapter 2 Paths Cross: The Violin's Prelude………………………………

"I do hope you can forgive Muta you see…"

"You see he's quite lardaceous and appalling to look at," finished a mock-British accent.

"I… I didn't say that, Toto…"

"And I didn't hear that, bird brain."

"Now, now. That's enough," said Haru, calming the comrades down.

Chihiro clutched her tiny tea cup with trembling hands. "Where am I?" She was hoping it wasn't ghostville all over again, but at least these… people seemed friendly.

"I apologize on behalf of Muta for startling you," Baron said sweeping his hand to his heart gentlemanly and casting a glance at Muta.

"I don't regret it," Muta gruffly answered. "Got anything to eat?" groaned Muta as he walked towards the cupboard.

"Anyway," Baron muttered. "Welcome to the Bureau… Miss…?

"Chihiro," she replied.

"Miss Chihiro, then. Welcome to the Bureau, a haven for objects with souls—but we also provide our services in helping to solve people's problems that can't seem to be solved. I am Baron Humbert von Gikkingen. Flying above you is Toto, and over there by the…" he leaned back. "Muta, I do apologize, but that cheesecake is spoiled. Would you please put it out for me?" He returned to Chihiro. "Yes, that over there is Muta, and this is the lovely Miss Haru," he finished.

Haru blushed. Did he just say lovely?

"What I mean is… I am sure you have-ahem-met already?"

Chihiro looked up and tilted her head not sure what the cat doll meant.

Haru was equally unsure, but a close stare at Chihiro sparked her memory.

"Y-YOU'RE THAT GIRL!" Chihiro screamed, pointing.

"W-What?" Chihiro stuttered.

"You're that girl who said there was a ghost on my head!"

"Oh, yeah," Chihiro said remembering.

"How did you know that, Baron?" screamed the flustered teen.

"Simple. She matches description both physically and in speech, from what I gathered. Also, when two people meet (even for the slightest amount of time) some unbeknownst qualities rub off on them. From your body language, I was able (to some degree) conclude that you have met Miss Chihiro sometime recently," Baron stated in a teaching manner.

The two stared.

"T-That's not simple," whined Haru. 'Was he always able to study body language to well?' thought Haru. Her face shot up a few degrees.

"For instance," Baron began facing Chihiro.

"Your self is here but your mind is elsewhere. I look into your eyes but I cannot fully see "you" present. You are antsy, something has happened to you recently that made you scared and apprehensive. You have also recently faced a life-changing experience. That much is certain. You're fatigued. Is something the matter? Something tells me you're missing someone. Someone you love. I know that look very well," Baron stated, mumbling the last part and turning his head down.

"You can't be right," scoffed Haru, flustered at not knowing Baron had this ability. "I mean, she's only… ten or eleven, maybe!?" Love? At that age? He can't be right. And since when has Baron been able to do this? For Haru, it was both unnerving and perplexing. And... 'I know that look well.' What does _that_ mean?

"But, he's right," mumbled Chihiro. "I am trying to find someone."

"Well, you've certainly come to the right place then," announced Baron, smiling. "Why don't you start from the beginning?"

Chihiro was hesitant, but was gradually to lift the weight off her chest.

"Well, I first met him when I was a little girl and I fell into the river and lost my sandal…"

……………………………………..

"Bou… Oh, Bou…" wailed Yubaba.

A long haired woman in a pink, loose uniform rushed into the room and bowed at Yubaba's feet—but rather stiffly, as if she wished to be _anywhere_ but there.

"You called, ma'am?" she said with her face pressing to the floor.

"Get me some tea, you disgusting little thing. And some cigars," Yubaba hissed with spit coming out from her teeth. Then she doubled over and sobbed. "OH BOU! BOU! BOU!" she shrieked pounding at her desk. Her loud mourning could frighten even some of the ghosts in the bathhouse.

"Not to be rude, Master Yubaba, but your howling might awaken the guests," said the women in a sharp tone. But she drew back as the witch shook the room—papers and furniture flying everywhere.

"MY SON IS MISSING YOU FILTHY GIRL! I TOLD YOU TO GET ME A CIGAR OR I'LL TURN YOU INTO COAL!"

The girl stood with a smart face and left the room.

"Hold on," the witch said with grating teeth and glaring eyes. "What is your name?"

"The one I had before you stole it from me?" scoffed the girl.

"No, you insect! The one **I** gave you!"

"Lin."

"No meals tomorrow for your disrespect."

"WHAT? That's not fair-!"

The witch abruptly flew towards the servant girl and grasped her by the hair. Lin yelped in pain.

"You _know_…," Yubaba mused. "If Haku were still here, he'd stop me from breaking your little neck," she cackled driving her long fingernail gently across Lin's tiny throat. Lin felt a slight dribble of something run down from where her master's fingernail slit.

Lin coughed and gasped for air as her legs dangled from Yubaba's fearsome strength.

"Lucky him then…" she gasped between the choking grasp. Yubaba's fiery eyes widened. "Lucky him. And Chihiro too… for getting the heck out of here…" she smiled.

Yubaba glared at her, awestruck. How long ago has it been? Years since she had last seen that girl. That repulsive, conniving brat that escaped from her clutches and swam away.

But Chihiro was a good bathwoman. Honest and hard-working and spoiled to the core. Truly, she was a lot of trouble, but there was something very simple about her. And she had connections with Haku, right?

Yubaba's eyes rolled up as a smile stretched across her leathery face. She released the bathwoman who fell in a tangled heap at the witch's feet.

Perhaps she can strike another deal with that human girl again…

…………………………………….

"Allow me to pour you some more tea Chihiro… Ah! There we are… Now, you say that you went out of the tunnel and then…?"

"And then… that's it. I never saw him again," Chihiro said.

"A ghost world, huh? And witches and dragons…" chuckled Haru, her face a little pale.

"I want to find him. He could be in trouble, but I don't want to go back. He told me to wait for him, but I'm worried he won't come," said Chihiro.

"Sheesh…" Muta groaned, rolling his eyes. "Another cuckoo bird."

"Nonetheless," Baron noted to Muta. "We are happy to help you in finding your lost acquaintance."

"I'm not," grunted Muta.

"You _rarely_ are Muta…" mumbled Baron.

"Yeah, but this time it's different. The places we've been to, we've _known_ they exist. But this girl's lips are flapping on about ghosties, and giant heads, and witchy-witches. She needs a reality check," said Muta.

"Just because you don't know about it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It was only recently that Haru came across the Cat Kingdom sphere. I daresay there could be many like it that we can't even fathom," explained Baron.

"Always have the last word, don't you?"

"Most often. Yes," smiled Baron.

But his smile dropped. His golden eyes glinted.

"What is it Bar-?" asked Muta before Baron slapped a glove hand against Muta's mouth.

"ShShShh- Feel that?" whispered Baron.

Muta glanced up and wiggled his ears, nose, and chin. He stuck his pink tongue out once. "Yeah, what is it?"

Toto's black feathers ruffled. There was an eerie sense in the air. It was haunted and full of dread. "The wind…" he cawed.

True enough. A slight sickly breeze was dragging the dry leaves across the pavement with a scrapping sound.

To Muta it was like fingernails on a chalkboard. As a typical cat reaction, his hair stood on end and his claws were vexed.

To Baron it was like the shrieking of a violin full of melancholy. It was a nauseating beauty that melted his little lead heart.

To Toto it was the wind. It was nipping at each of his feathers and whispering swirling currents of warning. This was what made black birds such good soothsayers, something about the darkness of their downy coat that could pick up such vibes.

To Haru, it was just a meager heart skip. Being the most human of them all, she couldn't really pick up anything.

But to Chihiro, it was a swirling mess of emotions. Anger, grief, sadness, fear, and spite came in a tidal wave and swept her in the undertow. It was an overwhelming strain on her senses for they were new and inexperienced.

And a wind in whatever form it is sensed in this plane could only mean one thing…

"Someone's opened the door."

Chihiro yelped as she felt a hand grasped tightly on her shoulder. The wind flung her off her feet and pulled her up onto the ceiling, her feet dangling and the hand still firmly clutched.

"Help me!" she screamed, her body shaking with fear. Haru grabbed her leg and for a while stopped the hand from pulling Chihiro into a swirling abyss. Haru's feet skid as the wind was tugging her in as well. "Baron! Do something!" she cried.

"Oh no you don't!" snarled Muta, being faster than Baron, acting quickly. He leaped through the air impressively despite his weight. Muta opened its mouth and sunk his carnassials into the wrinkled hand on Chihiro's shoulder.

The colored mist around them shrieked and started pulling Chihiro and Haru in faster.

"Let go!" shouted Chihiro.

"I don't think it's listening to you!" screamed Haru over the wind.

"No! I meant you…"

"WHAT!?"

Chihiro faced Haru with an exhausted smile. "I think I know where it's going."

"You don't mean-!" Haru said before coming into realization. "You mean the spirit world!? Oh, Oh no!" she turned her head around, "Baron, get into my handbag! It's taking us to spirit world!"

"Right!" Baron whisked himself into Haru's lavender sack with grace. Once in, Haru let the wind whisk her off her feet and she screamed as the vortex sucked her in.

…………………………………

Review please.


	3. In Spirit World: A Wish of Luck

I'd like to thank Chrissymissy, prianime, iluvaikka, Hikari Midori-chan, Lee Totema, Uchi-Shakuma, and Suchi Rukara for their wonderful reviews. It's the first few reviews that a writer gets that they'll always remember. That doesn't make sense at all, but who cares? Continue to review! I just love it!

**Chapter 3: In Spirit World**

They landed with an "Oof!" on a large wooden bridge bright red surrounded by painted lanterns. Before them stood a massive tower. It's overwhelming size made Baron shiver in Haru's bag.

"We're here! We're actually here, I don't believe it!" Chihiro shouted. She seemed… ecstatic. Like a little girl in a theme park. For all Baron knew it _was_ a theme park.

Chihiro stood up and ran up to one of the red beams of the bridge. She hesitantly touched it, as if afraid it would disappear at her fingertips. Her eyes beamed with the lantern light.

"I don't believe it… I wanted so much to leave this place, but now I'm not sure why I feel so happy to be here. I feel so, so… alive."

"That's ironic," grumbled Muta, half-heartedly, rubbing his aching bum. He would have landed on his feet, of course, but he passed out in the midst of the confusion.

"I don't know. I feel clammy…" muttered Haru, clutching her shoulders. Her body swayed a little and her eyes had a sickly look to them.

Chihiro, of normal child-like instinct, grabbed Haru's hands and rubbed them and breathed on them for warmth. "Don't worry. Haku would know how to fix… that… HAKU!" she shouted at realization and ran up to the tower.

"Chihiro, don't run off so fast! We need to usurp the situation!" Baron shouted after her.

"But Haku's in there!" she shouted continuing to bound down the Bridge. "He's waiting for me-!" she froze as her face was confronted by a massive nose.

Attached to that nose was the witch Yubaba.

She shrieked as Yubaba grabbed her wrists and fished them high.

"YOU LITTLE HUMAN, YOOOOU! TRIED TO BITE ME, DID YOOOOOU!?" she flashed the back of her hand where two little holes were punctured and a bit red and bruised. "LOOK AT THIS! _HUMAN_ GERMS! IS THAT YOUR MEANS OF REVENGE!? IS IT!?!"

"I didn't bite you!" Chihiro squealed.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Haru mumbled, startled at this frightening woman. "But my uh… _pet_ cat did that," she said glancing over at Muta who was luckily, on all fours and looked nothing out of the norm besides obese. Muta grimaced but seemed to play along and stretched cat-like on the planks.

"Eh? More humans?" Yubaba snarled, glancing over in mid-Chihiro strangle.

"They're my friends, Granny. Were you the one who pulled me back here?" Chihiro said in a surprisingly friendly tone despite having the old hag's hands wrung around her neck.

"Yes I did, now quiet! You're damaging business!" the witch hissed as she proceeded to drag Chihiro towards the entrance of the bathhouse in much the same familiar manner she did into the spirit world.

"What business? There's no one around," Haru pointed out. To this Yubaba shrieked like a steam kettle and grabbed Haru with the other hand to hush her up and rush her in.

…………………………..

"Come have a seat, don't make a mess of things either," Yubaba scowled as she herself sat in the large comfy chair behind her desk.

"Where's Haku?" Chihiro immediately asked.

"Flew from my grasps a few months ago and never came back," Yubaba moaned in an exhausted manner. "So you haven't heard from him either. Hmph. Some lover…"

Chihiro looked much offended at what Yubaba said. Haru supposed that with Muta and Baron being preoccupied with not being seen she would have to speak on behalf of the Cat Bureau. After all, she was practically a member much less of an employer, right?

"Why do you need Chihiro?" she asked. It was Yubaba's turn to look offended at this human speaking to her in this manner.

"I require her help… in finding my… my…" Yubaba's eyes widened and she gaped like a fish.

Haru and Chihiro leaned forward in expectation.

"My… my…" Yubaba's mouth snapped together and her leathery lips flapped about before she finally caught her tongue and shrieked, **"MY SON!!!!"**

Chihiro stood up in dismay. "Bou is missing?" she shouted in horror. "Oh no!"

"I'll pay you whatever your filthy heart desires! Just bring him back to me!" Yubaba screamed. She seemed much less the revered bathhouse owner she used to be. Now she just looked like a frantic mother on the verge of tears or strangling her guests.

Her screaming was causing the room to rupture. The desk split and the papers fluttered frantically like moths. The lights flickered and Baron made his presence known as he jumped onto the desk.

"Then fret no longer, madam. The Cat Bureau is here to help," he said with the tip of his hat.

Yubaba froze in shock.

The room seized to shake.

"A… A magicked doll?" she murmured. She regained her composure and squinted at Baron who was about the size of her eye. "How queer…"

"Sheesh…" Muta muttered. "Two cases in one night. This will be fun," he grumbled sarcastically.

Yubaba froze again and glanced down at the large cat.

"And a magicked cat?"

"Ugh. No way. Sorry toots. Just a normal one," he grimaced.

"I see…" she mouthed, lost for words.

"Allow me to introduce myself," Baron started sensing the awkwardness of the situation. "I am Baron Humbart von Gikkingen. This down here is Muta, and over there is Haru. We make up the Cat Bureau and we help solve puzzling situations. Our services were recently called upon by Miss Chihiro, on request that we help her find her lost friend, Haku. Although, now I see we must take on another problem," he smiled. "No matter. They seem to intertwine anyway."

"You're right!" Haru smiled. "Both her son and Haku are missing for some strange reason. They must have something to do with each other!"

"Sorry sweetheart, but stating the obvious is Baron's job," Muta smiled cattily. "You don't pull it off."

Haru's self-esteem sank visibly.

Baron clouted Muta a bit on the ears with his delicate gloved hand. "Must I always be the one to catch your own tongue?" Muta cat-hissed and bared his fangs.

Yubaba's gaze lowered rather darkly. She put her hand protectively on a little golden box beside her. "Fine. I'll employ you. But if it's money you want, well… business hasn't been so fortunate these days."

"Oh, we don't charge," Baron said.

"Unless you're a reoccurring annoyance like lulu here," Muta said looking towards Haru who huffed and blew at her bangs. "Then we bill at the end of the month."

"You know he's joking, right?" Baron said to Yubaba almost tired of correcting the large cat.

Yubaba stared. "Can… can you really help me find my baby?"

Muta rolled his yellow eyes. "Lady, you have _no idea_ what we can do. We'll get you're tyke back before you can say 'cream cheese…'" he smiled reassuringly before his eyes rolled over dreamingly into fish cream-like fantasies.

Chihiro daringly put her hand on Yubaba's shoulder. "And remember? Bou's my friend just as Haku is. I want to find both of them."

Yubaba still glared, untrusting, before moving out of her chair and fetching something on her book shelf. She retrieved a gleaming white ball which was placed onto Chihiro's hands. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a skull and Chihiro nearly fainted at the sight.

"Don't think about breaking it! It will tell you what to do if you need anything and you can use it almost like a telephone to contact anyone. That includes me or anyone in the bathhouse. Also…" she handed them a piece of paper.

"See this wizard. He's a terrifying creature that eats the hearts of young ladies like yourselves so good luck with that. He doesn't live in this plane or your own but I suspect there's a portal in yours in the country called "Wales" that will take you to him."

"Wales?" Haru gaped. "Isn't that in Europe?"

"How should I know what's in your own world?" Yubaba sneered. "You do know how to speak Welsh, right? Or English at the least."

"Well, it's required, but I only know a few phrases," answered Haru. "Machida always had to help me…"

"Wait! Machida?" eyed Baron. "Machida the boy you liked in school? _He_ helped you in English?"

"Only sometimes on the homework, but I never cheated and-"

"And did you ever consider asking _me_ to help considering I'm from the Europe!" said Baron his offended tone rising higher. A harsh and unexpected mannerism was starting to seep out of his usually placid demeanor. "And, for that manner, why would language be a problem when you have me?"

"Well, I'm sorry!" snapped the flabbergasted Haru. "I just thought that I could be more useful, only I'm so bad at English!"

Baron raised his gloved finger at a thought, then stopped and lowered it. He shook his furry head and sighed. "No, no! I am sorry for shouting. You are right, Haru, considering we will be traveling in your world, you are needed to be the voice of the Cat Bureau."

"It's… okay," said Haru wondering at what got Baron so worked up over the situation.

"Well, maybe he can hide in your bag and tell you what to say," offered Chihiro.

"No need for that." Baron turned to Yubaba. "Do you have any language charms on hand? One for English and another for Welsh for Miss Haru and possibly Miss Chihiro?"

Yubaba's mouth pressed shut and her jowls sagged with a deeply rooted frown. "Fine, I think I have a universal one in the back, but you better not waste it!"

"And while you are at it, do you have anything that could slow the time in Japan so Miss Haru and Miss Chihiro's parents do not notice their leave?"

"You seem to be familiar with spells, cat."

Baron shrugged. "I was carved in a wizardry district in England."

Yubaba rolled her eyes. "I'll get the spells for the magicked cat but the rest of you go outside! Before the guests smell you!"

Chihiro and Haru glanced at each other anxiously but bowed before exiting through the hallway. They could barely exit the declining elevator when they were greeted by a flurry of apparitions.

"SEN!" a familiar face shouted while running up and hugging her.

"Lin!" Chihiro shouted back as she embraced the taller woman.

"You knuckle-head! You were going to leave without saying hi to me, weren't you?" Lin smiled. She took Chihiro's hand. "Quick! Everyone is dying to see you! Kamaji and all the bath women, and the foremen, and…" she trailed off while staring at Haru and Muta.

"Oh," Chihiro smiled. "This is Lin, she was like my big sister when I was working here in the bathhouse." They exchanged their greetings.

"I missed you Sen! You're here to help Master Yubaba find her son aren't you? It's so weird that he's gone! And Haku too! Yubaba's on the fritz and the bathhouse isn't like it used to be," Lin ranted on. "So how long are you staying?"

"Actually, I think we're all leaving right now. We're kind of in a hurry, but I promise I'll come back soon to say hi to everyone. And I'll come with Bou and Haku," Chihiro said triumphantly.

Lin gave an understanding smile but then frowned. "Oh darn! I wish I had something to give you that would help you, but I really don't have much myself…"

"You can always wish us well," said Haru. "That's better than any spell or charm. After all, we're on a quest and wishing us well is the best anyone can do for us."

"All right," said Lin smartly. "And good luck."

While exiting Muta spat on the ground and sneered.  
"Sheeeeeesh! You're starting to sound more like Baron every day!"

Haru just smiled. "Yeah…"

……………………………

"All right, I put the charm on the humans! This is the door that will lead you to Whales," explained Yubaba. "That's as far as I can take you! You must ask around for 'Howl,' and my son better be back in once piece, UNDERSTOOD!?"

"Aye, aye, cap'n…" groaned Muta rolling his yellow eyes.

"And don't… _die_."

"Never knew you cared so much Mzzzzz Witch…" said Muta.

"Don't get me wrong! These are dangerous people who kidnapped my son! You just need to find where he is and who is keeping him and, mark my words, THEY WILL PAY!" she shrieked.

"All right already," muttered Muta. "Honestly, who does she think we are? We're _professionals_, y'know."

"Then perhaps we'll receive more business from this sphere after we have accomplished the task at hand," said Baron with a hopeful attitude. With that, the door swung open and they were sucked through.

"Who said I _wanted_ more business from this town?" echoed Muta's voice as the gang disappeared.

………………….

Ok. Couple of things over here.

For reference, I use the Cat Returns manga which explains that there are many "spheres" (humorously called "speres" by cats since they cannot pronounce the "ph" sound) such as the Cat Kingdom, the Human World, and the Spirit World. Also, for Howl's Moving Castle, I lean a lot towards the original Diana Wynne Jones book in that Howl was originally born in the Human World in Wales. If you don't know where Wales is, look it up on a map or ask your geography or history teacher.


	4. In which Chihiro encounters a wizard

**Jade Dragon & lilmouse1988: **Changed and changed. XD I feel so stupid!!!

**Creation of a Dream (and this is a doosy): **

Tips noted. I apologize for the horrible rendering of their characters (some flamers find me notorious for such this shameful act). I'm a sort of… extremist. I've always written with explosive behavior, fast-paced speech, and enough static to power a Las Vegas night. Twisted, aren't I?

However, I will take this into heart and I am so very, very happy that I'm off to a good start in Howl's personality. Personally, I never liked the smexy/stoned demeanor that the movie gave him. In the book he's so much more a dynamic character.

To answer your question: years have passed, however, Yubaba was thinking in spirit world terms which I have always figured to be quicker than human world time zone. If you ever drop into another world, correct me, if you will.

Chapter 4: In which Chihiro encounters a wizard and his wife

Haru yelped as the group had, once again, fallen from the spirit world onto soft but slightly damp bedding. She ran her fingers through it from the lying position she was in to find that it was grass and stood abruptly so that the colored, slender stems would not stain her school uniform.

She glanced up to find Baron already up on his feet and surveying the area.

"Rivendell," he noted with nod towards a street sign. It seemed to be a quiet suburban area with no soul in sight. The air was cool and gray clouds loomed above them.

"There are so many houses!" exclaimed Chihiro. "And all the lawns look the same. How could she think we could find this 'wizard Howl' at all?"

Haru put her arm around Chihiro's shoulder in reassurance. "Don't worry, it will be all right. We'll find Haku and Bou," she said, however uneasily. She knew that searching for the two was the Cat Bureau's duty now, but Haru started having doubts about finding them. After all, she had never stepped out of Japan in her life and had trouble finding her own cell-phone and such. Now she was expected to find two lost people by meeting a wizard and traveling to different countries… and dimensions, for that matter. It all seemed so distant from reality, and she wasn't sure she was up for the challenge. Admittedly, if she had never met Baron, Muta, and Toto and visited the Cat Kingdom, she would never have gotten this far.

But perhaps this should be as far as she went. After all, Baron had his ingenuity, Muta (however lazy) had a knack of finding places and had a good heart, and Chihiro even seemed to know more about what is going on than Haru. She felt… frustrated that she could not be of any better help. Besides, what could a normal teenage schoolgirl do?

"Muta, could you please set us on course?" started Baron glancing at the white cat sprawled on the cement.

Muta grimaced but hauled his large body up. He sniffed the air just once and then proceeded to walk forward, tail in the air, in a matter that would seem most mechanical.

"This is Muta's specialty," Haru explained to Chihiro.

"Where's he going?" asked Chihiro, her eyes wide in amazement.

"I don't know myself, but Muta always had a good sense of direction," said Haru. "He eve got us through a giant labyrinth once."

"I see."

By the time she had finished, Muta was already done, his tail jerked into a question mark shape as he faced a small yellow house. He smiled, "Too easy…"

"Well done, Muta," complemented Baron. Haru, being the only one besides Chihiro to be able to reach the doorbell pressed her finger upon it nimbly.

The chime sounded and echoed inside the house.

A face immediately appeared as the door swung open. It was a middle aged man with dark hair and sorry expression. His complexion seemed to need more sun and his mind more airing out because of his rather closed in and distant demeanor.

"Hello?" came a voice in a strange dialect. It seemed to be Welsh but, incredibly, they could all understand it.

"H-Hi," said Haru, mouthing the strange tongue that has taken over her mouth. "Is this where the wizard named Howl lives?"

"Wizard?" muttered the man, raising his eyebrows. "My good-for-nothing uncle is anything but! And I'm sorry, he does not live here. Come to think of it… I'm not quite sure where he lives…"

"Are you sure you don't know?" cried Chihiro in a sad voice.

The man looked the two girls over and smiled. "Tell you what," he said as he extended his hand. "Why don't you come inside so I can ask my mother? It is awful chilly outside."

The two girls nodded their heads, their eyes glistening. Muta quietly rushed inside just as the door slammed shut, unseen.

It was a cramped house, orange carpet on the ground and old-fashioned stuckle on the ceiling. The floor was littered with various computer parts. Mice of the electronic kind laid dully on the floor next to cookie crumbs that seemed strangely fitting. Keyboards sprawled their flat bodies on top of each other like beached seals.

"I apologize for the mess. You see, I assemble computers as a side job from my computer game designing occupation. But you must know about that, being…" he stopped short and grasped his mouth. "I'm sorry that was incredibly rude of me. It's just, how technology is going in Japan and all."

"That's okay," said Haru. "Although, I can't even fix my own alarm clock."

The man guffawed as they moved to the living room where an elderly, gaunt woman adorned in a moth-bitten bathrobe was sitting in a chair with her feet on the coffee table watching the television.

"Neil!" the woman shrieked without turning. "Is that you?"

"Yes, mother. Do you know where your address book is? These young ladies want to know where Uncle Howell lives."

"Howell!" she shrieked with the strange raspy voice of a home broken parrot. "What do they want with that flea-bitten bum who hasn't showed his slender nose here for the past twenty years? And no, I don't know where his lazy carcass is parked!"

"I'm sorry," the man apologized. "I guess I can't tell you where he is. Is there anything else I can do to help?"

"I think we might have overstayed our welcome…" remarked Haru glancing towards the ratty old woman who proceeded to through pieces of popcorn at the screen.

"Well, maybe I can get you some juice boxes in the fridge before you go," said Neil, smiling, as he briskly ran into, presumably, the kitchen.

Chihiro and Haru's faces were laced with disappointment until Muta nodded them towards a closet door which stood before them barely up to Chihiro's nose level.

"In that door."

"What's in that door?"

"I don't know, you tell me, missy. I'm just the pointer cat," said Muta shrugging and curling up on the carpet.

Haru raised her fingers delicately to the knob. Her heart was pounding, and she was hesitant to open it. This could be the doorway to destiny, and how was she to know whether she would come back home? Would she ever see her mom again? Her school? Hiromi and Machida and all her other friends? She asked herself if she should be doing this when, after all, she tried so hard to get from the Cat Kingdom back home. Should she be forfeiting all that now? Was it worth it?

Haru grasped the knob. For Baron, for Muta, and for her new friend Chihiro, you're darn right it's worth it!

She swung open the door only to have an avalanche of shoe boxes and old board games fall onto her.

"AAAAH-!" she screamed from the pile.

Baron struggled to push aside the chess board to free her while chastising Muta. "Confound it, you were wrong, Muta. I've hardly ever known you to make a mistake."

"Sheesh!" hissed Muta. "No trust! I'm never wrong…"

After Haru was helped out of the wreckage, Baron ran a gloved finger over the surface of the closet door. "I apologize, Muta, there is something beyond this door," he said, flustered and feeling across the peeling paint and wood. "But we're being shut out."

"Shut out?" asked Chihiro.

"It's powerful sorcery. It must have been cast by this wizard Howl to prevent us from stepping in."

"That seems awfully unwelcoming," said Haru uneasily.

"Yes, but," stated Baron. A strange smile crept upon his face. "It's not going to get the best of this cat doll."

They stared as Baron took some precise steps back so that he was in the light upon the carpet that shone through the grimy window to his right. He caught the light at a certain angle with the cock of his head so that his eyes glistened then shone brilliantly. Chihiro squinted as bright green and blue light reflected across the room in tiny, sharp shapes like a kaleidoscope. The door swung upon, but this time, it was not the closet inside but something else.

"Baron-!"

Just as Haru, understanding that Baron could not possibly hold this change forever and attempted to dash in, she was stopped by blue and green flames that engulfed the doorway.

She yelped and flew back, but Baron pressed onward, the light from his eyes overpowering the red flames until they shrank back into the depths of the coat closet. He was just about to subdue this fire when Chihiro, Haru, and Muta rushed in. The door slammed shut, and they all collapsed of exhaustion.

………………………..

"Well, what have we here, Calcifer?"

"Hmph. Not my problem! They overpowered me!"

"Is that the truth, Calcifer?"

"WHAT!? You think I'd _let_ them in?"

Chihiro struggled to open her eyes to the voices around her. Did they make it across? What exactly happened back there? But her body felt so exhausted, she couldn't move. Not even her fingers. She put all her effort into moving them, but they lay beside her like a confused dog asked to do a trick it never learned. Yep, not even the fingers.

"Are they dangerous?" came the voice of a woman.

"The two girls are human. I think there's some kind of smallish beast that got inside. But that cat doll over there is definitely magicked or something. It could be a demon. It nearly blew me out!" came another voice that resembled the crackling of dry leaves in flame.

"Oh Calcifer, we trusted you to keep the house safe. If something like this happens every time Howl leaves… what with the baby and all…" she sighed.

Chihiro closed her eyes once again only to find, in a moment later, some pungent liquid put to her face by a bowl. She yelped and jumped at the sour taste that stormed into her throat and burned her insides.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" she struggled with her startled tongue, enraged at the burning liquid it was sitting in.

"Well, one's awake," said the woman clutching the bowl of the vile concoction.

"W-What is that?" whimpered Chihiro with watery eyes.

"_Erythrophleum suaveolens _mostly," answered the woman. "It's an Afrikaan herb that will intoxicate the body and kill a person most painfully if it senses maliciousness. I was hoping lacing it with a bit of rum would help the taste, but I'm sorry if it hadn't."

"I-It's…" Chihiro trailed off and doubled over to her side and vomited like a sick dog upon the polished wooden panels of flooring.

"Oh dear! Here I was not taking chances with the baby and… Oh I'm so sorry! Let me get you a towel, I should have known a child's body could not handle it."

Chihiro's throat felt like it was on fire. Her sides of her stomach were pressing together till they were almost touching and squeezing out whatever she had left like a roll of toothpaste. She bitterly thought that this must have been what No Face felt like when she fed it the herb from the River Spirit. Now she had a sudden and unsettling respect for No Face.

"This is all my fault! Heavens, where's Markhl, Calcifer? He could help me carry her to the bed! Darn it all! That boy is probably off courting my sister again! Dear me, he's taking on from Howl more every day…" the woman muttered to herself.

"A-Am I going to d-die?" Chihiro muttered. Sweat dripped from her brow, and she was shaking. She felt like she really _was_ going to die.

But the woman just looked and her with a pleasant face and wiped her brow. "Not at all, dearie. If anything, this shows what a strong body you have." Chihiro grimaced. She didn't _feel_ strong. She felt like she was positively dying.

"Oh, I wish that dastardly Howl were here! He would know what to do right now!" cried she in an exasperated tone.

"Oh, but you were handling it all so well…" moaned a voice from the corner of the room. Chihiro could but turn her head to see a man with dark hair covering his face and a long coat with sleeves dragging down towards the floor.

"Howl!" gasped the woman, turning towards the man. "No! NO! Don't tell me you have been there all this time!"

"Well, if that pleases you dear," Howl smiled and kissed her on the cheek fondly. She slapped the kiss off her cheek and bared her teeth in anger. "You could have helped me!"

"Well, you had _such_ a good hold of the situation that I thought I could sit back and watch the show," Howl said, raising his eyebrows in mock-amazement. Then he turned towards the pool of vomit Chihiro was writhing in and swept his hand over it while muttering a short incantation. The pool shrunk and disappeared while the color seemed to return to Chihiro's face.

When finished, Howl crouched down to the girl's face. "Hello there. A little bird… or perhaps an old crone has told me that you have been looking for me," he said smiling. "I'm the wizard Howl."

"You're a wizard?" Chihiro said. "You don't look so old..."

Howl flashed her a stunning grin which made the little girl smile. "Now don't just assume things like that. I could be very old or very young—I'm a wizard. Age is fleeting."

"But he acts like a child," the woman pointed out.

Howl sighed at Sophie. "Please excuse me. I forgot to introduce another old hag in the household."

"My name is Sophie, dearie," cooed the woman. Upon closer inspection, Chihiro saw that indeed she had the silvery hair of an aged woman, but had the face of a younger woman not much older than herself. In fact, Chihiro seemed quite perplexed at this. Like a trick mirror, the woman Sophie looked rather young in one eye, but upon second look rather old. Chihiro assumed that this must have been the magic the wizard talked about, and true enough age was fleeting and flying before her eyes. Or perhaps this woman had the best qualities of both age and youth, for she seemed like a nice and strong-willed woman for having fed Chihiro poison.

And, upon glancing further down towards the floor, Chihiro found that she was… pregnant too and wondered who the father must be. It certainly couldn't be the young looking wizard with the fiery and entrancing personality. Chihiro's experience with fathers was that they were quite large in size, laughed loudly, and irresponsible with family matters. This man seemed to be a young child compared to her father and was handsome. Her friends at school (not that she would ever dare say it) would call his demeanor downright sexy.

And the uncomfortably strong-minded young woman named Sophie hardly seemed the mother material. Mothers were supposed to be no-nonsense and overbearing, prone to shopping, forgetting birthdays and graduation ceremonies, and ignoring spouse and child alike.

"What is she doing here Howl?" groaned Sophie. "I could have tidied the room before she came upon our filthy abode."

"I'm here to save Haku!" Chihiro tried to say before Howl grabbed her mouth firmly by his delicate hand and started, "Dear me, the poor girl has a fever. And we better get the others up as well."

"Hold on Howl, I think she is trying to say something."

"Don't fret, darling. It's just the fever talking."

"I don't have a fever!" screamed Chihiro when she released her mouth from the restraining arms. "Yubaba told me to-!" she yelped before she found she could not. She felt as if her lips were glued together when she wanted to scream out. "I'm trying to-!" "That is-!" "I just-!"

"I think she's fatigued, Sophie," muttered Howl. He turned discreetly to Chihiro and pressed his slender finger upon his lips. "Tell Calcifer to heat her up a cup of hot chocolate. I'll try to get her on the sofa."

"I'm upset, Howl, I hope you know. I think you're trying to slither out of something once again and when the poor thing feels better, she will tell me all about it," said Sophie who turned abruptly and left the room.

Chihiro continued to struggle with her words and it was tormenting. She recognized this spell from when Yubaba tried to shut her up. Tears welled up in her eyes as she was frustrated at getting so close.

"But-! I just-! Oh please help…" she groaned. She felt a dizzy spell pass through her and her vision grew unfocused. She caught a glimpse of the wizard Howl's lips moving rapidly and his eyes shining like fragments of glass.

……………………………………………….

R&R please.


	5. In which a spell is put on Chihiro

I'm sure you don't give a flying fish, but I bought meself "The Art of Spirited Away" book. It's nifty, and I've been tracing like a madwoman. Side from that, my summer has betrayed my happiness very much. Work has raped all the joy.

Also, I'm studying for SAT. Yippee. I'm trying to get a 2100. You might see me sprinkle a couple of SAT words here and there next update.

Chapter 5: In which a spell is put on Chihiro

When Haru awoke on a soft bed, night had already fallen in Ingary. The fishermen, the sailors, the townspeople, the kings men, the poor men, and the wizard of the moving castle and wife of the wizard were asleep besides their partners to the sound of chirping crickets and seagulls.

Haru rubbed her eyes and blinked at her surroundings. She seemed to be in a very tidy, old house with a tiny flame burning in the fireplace and flower bouquets adorning the tabletop and the walls of the house. She rubbed her head and remembered the last events that came to past: traveling to the spirit world, meeting a witch, traveling to Wales, stumbling into a closet door. She wondered how long she had been lying there since they had fallen in.

Baron and Chihiro were nowhere in sight. Muta was curled up beside her legs and she thought better than to disturb his sleep. An odd rushing sound met her ears and she crept towards a window. The window smelled of cleaning solution and she roughly pushed her arm against it to open.

Wind rushed into the room and she yelped as what she saw beyond the window frightened her. The moon directly sat right in front of her in a starry sky and if she looked down she saw the dim lights of a town. Pushing the window open caused her to fall over and almost come falling down. Whatever place they were, it seemed to be flying in the sky!

She felt something pull herself back in and the window was shut abruptly.

"Haru, are you all right?" came Baron's familiar voice.

"Baron-!" she said before she came upon Baron's serious face with a gloved finger graced upon his whiskered mouth. "Oh, sorry. What-?"

"The occupants of this house are asleep. And I don't want that fire over there," he whispered nodding towards the tiny flame in the fireplace, "to hear us."

Haru nodded then frowned in confusion. "What?" she said.

"It's a rather animated fire, if I do say so myself," Baron explained. "I saw it talk while I was hiding unseen."

"Oh," said Haru looking towards the flame. Upon second look, she saw that it made snoring noises. This, coming from a fire, made her extremely uncomfortable and she clutched her mouth abruptly for she was on the verge of screaming.

"It's all right, Haru. Just look at me," said Baron, seeing her uneasiness. "It bothers me too," he admitted with a smile.

"Baron, where are we? I looked outside and…"  
"We're flying, yes," he acknowledged. "And I can't find Chihiro. I happened to catch a glimpse of the wizard while he picked you up and put you on that bed. He seemed… an interesting fellow, to say the least."

"What did he look like?"

"Well... he was… one would find him an attractive man. And surprisingly young, although it is possibly some spell. I mean, you can hardly trust these wizards… which is why I hid behind that vase at the corner of the room, you see. Better if they not see me, you know… so we have the element of surprise-"

They heard a crackle from the fireplace. Or more like… a chuckle. The two turned to see the wide saucer eyes of the fire staring at them.

"It's funny—the element of surprise and all. I sensed you the moment you disarmed my spell," the fire explained.

Baron narrowed his eyes. Haru's mouth opened and closed in surprise.

"Baron… I think that fire… is t-talking…"

"Of course I'm talking!" shouted the fire. "Is that so surprising? Oooo, the fire can speak for himself! But we don't have to pay attention to him so long as he keeps the castle warm and heats the chocolates! Why I oughta-!"

"I am sorry if I had disturbed your sleep," said Baron jumping onto the fireplace. He stood on the stone bricks surrounding the pit, daringly face to face with the fire that was the same size as he. "We must speak with the wizard Howl urgently."

"Why can't you just talk to me?" toyed the fire, its flames licking the air playfully. "I'm just as powerful as Howl is, just so you know."

"I beg your pardon," answered Baron. "But we, unfortunately, do not know who you are and it is imperative that we speak with the wizard."

A grin stretched across the fire's face. "You're powerful. I'll give you that. But one of the hundreds of things I am enslaved to do for that mad wizard and his charming wife is to protect this castle from the likes of you."

"And I'm sure you take great pride in your duty, but we really-!"

The fire seemed to grow angrier by the minute. "I think I'll burn you! What are you… made of wood? Tin? You look easy to melt to me! And you'd be lucky, because Howl (who, might I remind you, is only just as powerful as I) is much more of a creative fellow and can think of more wicked things to do to you two! Why, I ought to call Howl in here now-!"

"Then do so! By all means!" scowled Baron. "We have pressing matters to discuss with him!"

The fire was taken aback, his mouth agape. His cinders crackled and he arched back like a cat as flames licked the ceiling. His red glow seemed to turn blue and green, as well, in anger. Baron braced himself in front of Haru and readied himself for the unexpected.

Actually, one thing he didn't expect was the loud clanging of a pot being dropped over the fire.

Baron recognized the dropper of the pot that covered the fire as the wizard Howl.

"Fire demons should be seen and not heard, am I right?" The wizard leaned down gracefully with a hand firm on top of the pot. "Now, Calcifer, I'm sure you don't _really_ want to burn these guests…"

"Hey! Lemme out!" cried the fire from the pot. "Yes! I really, really want to! Darn you Howl!"

The wizard leaned further. "No, you _really, really_ don't want to…"

There was silence in the pot until the voice of the fire asked, "Why?"

The wizard leaned further till his breath steamed upon the pot. "Because Sophie is in one of her moods, heaven knows why. It can't possibly be something of my doing. Anyway, you know she would do much more wicked things to you if you hurt these people than I could ever conjure up."

There was a faint whimper from the pot. Howl lifted the pot over the fire that now had the most shocked and horrified expression.

Howl hung the pot to the side of the cupboard and was about to walk away as if he had not taken notice of Baron and Haru standing there until Haru meekly replied, "Thank you."

Howl glanced slightly through strands of his dark hair and shrugged.

"I was just saving Calcifer's life," he answered nonchalantly.

"Wizard Howl-!" called Baron after the wizard who shook his black bangs. "In the morning, in the morning, please. And don't bother my fire anymore," he groaned waving the back of his hand.

When he left, Baron sighed and groaned.

"I grow tired of these arrogant wizards and stuffy magic folk…" he muttered to himself. "Now, you should get back to bed Haru. I'll wake you up in the morning for the talk."

"I-I don't think I can sleep with _that_ awake," she said fearfully tilting her head discreetly towards the fire who hissed and crackled itself to sleep.

Baron's frowned with deep concern and it made Haru shiver as she curled up like a cat into the bed. "You're being a very brave girl through all this," he murmured as she floated into sleep with strange ease.

………………………………………

Chihiro shivered from the cold as her body groaned and ached. Her head was swimming in syrup again and her heart was screaming and starving for Haku.

Her hair stuck to her neck and face with sweat as she tossed and turned in the unfamiliar place. Her heart was dying, and her body along with her. She was finding it difficult to breathe.

"Ch-Chihiro?"

It was like the panging of piano music that played a familiar and heart wrenching song. A song you forgot the words too, but now you remember and you have found your way home.

"Ch-Chihiro?" muttered Haku.

Chihiro stared in disbelief. But sure enough, that same boy with dark hair and piercing eyes stood before her.

"It's just a dream... It's just a dream," she muttered over and over like a chant while standing her ground. It was difficult—her knees were buckling.

"Chihiro…"

It was like a stab to the heart. She blinked. She clenched her fists. She stared. She did not want to fall prey to this illusion. "It's just a dream… It's just a dream…"

The dragon boy finally broke his stare and glanced down. "Hehe… Maybe it is," he chuckled.

It was bizarre for a dream person to admit that their world is life's darkest charade.

"I…" broke Chihiro, faltering from her pride. "I-I didn't… I didn't look back, Haku…"

He smiled. "Yes. You didn't."

"N-no," Chihiro gasped as she looked down in horror to find her shoes creeping towards this dream of Haku. "It-It's just a dream… It's just a dream..."

And then her heart snapped. She heard the sound of a muffled gunshot come from her chest when this dream Haku extended his hand to take hers.

She recalled that hearts usually made a "beep, beep," sound, but right now her heart was roaring like a train. It was endless, never ending, thundering towards a distant place head on and without brakes until it found its place to crash. And then it rammed itself into Haku's body and collided with his heart. She gasped in dismay when she found her legs gave way, and she fell into his arms. He caught her and leaned her frail, tiny body against his.

"Haku! Haku! I found you!" she screamed. The tears were rolling down her cheeks.

Similar tears met his dark eyes. He chuckled in disbelief again. "Don't you think… if it's a dream… that we ought to make the best out of it?"

"It's a good dream…" she cooed in his arms.

Haku sat down clutching Chihiro in his arms so that her body leaned against his. And they held each other for what seemed an eternity, without anything spoken between them.

"Oh, Haku…" Chihiro sighed in a sleepy daze. "I wish this moment could last forever."

"Yes," he muttered. "If only it could."

"Aww Haku. Why not? I missed you so much! I-I'd die if you left me again!" she whined like the ten year old girl she was.

"I can't stay now…"

"Why?"

"Because… this," he waved his hands around. "This is a dream… And this," he said cupping her face in his hands. "This will all go away. You're so strong, Chihiro…"

"Haku. What are you saying?"

Haku sighed a deep, sad sigh. "Even this is over. You're waking up Chihiro."

"W-What?"

"You're waking up now…. You're waking up now…"

Chihiro felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, like the sensation of realizing a spider thing was crawling on the back of your leg slowly. She yelped and shot up, and when she did she realized she had awoken from the dream. Her stomach felt queasy, and she felt her heart dying again in this living shell of reality.

The incantation was broken with a yawn. She turned to her side and saw the wizard Howl sitting beside the bed on a stool.

"Y-You…" she coughed with difficulty. The dream was over and she had reentered her sick body. Her surroundings looked terribly bleak and ugly. Even the wizard of surpassing beauty standing before her looked plain and revolting away from Haku.

"I hope you had a good dream."

"W-Why are you not letting me talk about-? I need-! I need to find him…" The spell was stopping her again.

He seemed to be contemplating his response until he finally sighed and spoke.

"You see…" he started.

"I am an evil wizard. I am horrible and wicked and cruel… and married," he added as if the term was strung together with all of the above. "Sophie… er, many, I suppose, would consider me cowardly and selfish for not assisting you in finding Madam Yubaba's lost child…"

"It does seem that way…"

"But it isn't! I swear!" cried the wizard. "You've seen my wife, correct? She is… _pregnant_," he said shuddering upon the taboo word as if he uttered the name of the Satan himself.

"And?" demanded Chihiro.

"Which means she is more moody and terrifying than normal," he added with a serious tone. "And this selfish, cowardly wizard really can't leave her now. You understand, right?"

Chihiro was disappointed, but she understood. He may not be able to admit it, but if the wizard were separated from his wife, he would probably feel the same aching Chihiro felt now. Although, that didn't mean Chihiro would give up looking for Haku. Her dream meeting with him, real or illusion, gave her a sense of newfound hope and strength.

"Listen," she started. "I understand, but what can I do? You have to help me-"

"I can't have you raising the flag, either," continued the wizard. "That's why the spell I put on you will keep you just sick enough to stay in bed for a while…"

Chihiro's jaw dropped in horror. Just when she sympathized with the wizard… he had the nerve… of keeping her prisoner here!

Howl raised his hands defensively. "Just for a short time! Sophie is expecting soon anyway!"

Chihiro was fuming—her face reddening even more than from the illness. "I was just going to feel sorry for you! Oh please help me! I need to find-! I-!"

Howl groaned loudly and rubbed his temples. "You're single-minded, selfless valor reminds me of _her_…" he moaned woefully. "I'll have Markyl come in to care for you. He doesn't ask questions much anyway…"

"My friends will stop you! They will tell your wife the truth!" Chihiro shouted with difficulty.

"Then I'll have to do something about that then…" Howl sighed leaving the room. "All this trouble! Work, work, work!" he complained to himself as he closed the door.

Chihiro fell into her pillow and screamed.

So close…

……………………………………

R&R


	6. In which magic and mischief ensues

Sorry. I'm studying for the SAT, so… chapter is probably bombarded with fancy words. Look 'em up if you don't know them. Write the definition in the review. Get a fanfiction cookie on the next update!

Chapter 6. In which magic and mischief ensues

"**GOOD MORNING**!" shouted a cheerful voice railing in Haru's ears.

"Wuh-AAAH!" screamed Haru as she shot out of bed.

The owner of the cheerful voice set out to fold the bed sheets into squares with surprising speed for a pregnant woman.

Haru landed from her flight hard on the floor beside the couch.

"I'm sorry!" chimed the woman as she swept a broom around the bed. "I was in such a bad mood last night with my husband that now I'm happy and feel like cleaning!" she chirped. "You know men and their stupid cowardice…"

"I… don't think so…" muttered Haru. She sat up and dusted her school uniform that she slept in. "Are you…?"

The woman spun around. "My name is Sophie," she said, smiling. "And… I'm the wife of the wizard Howl," she scowled with a look of distaste.

"The wife… right," mumbled Haru at the shockingly young woman with white hair. "Where is he?"

Sophie looked up from her sweeping. "Ohoho! Howl's not in right now, no!" she laughed.

"I scared him off, you see," she whispered with a wink. "Can't let him take advantage of me, although he is a wizard, you know. We had quite a time last night, he and I…" she continued extending her hand up like a cat. "I scratch."

"But he's gone right now, unfortunately. You might catch him sometime tonight."

Haru nodded and glanced around. "Have you seen…?"

"Oh look at that dirty looking pillow! I wonder who put it there!" shrieked Sophie and proceeded to scrape the end of her broom against a large, white sack sitting on top of the coffee table.

Common experience has caused Haru to recognize said sack as the large cat who calls himself Muta.

Muta yelped and hissed when he was broomed and jumped up from his sleep. The shock caused his large body to roll off the table and fall on the floor in a manner much like Haru had awoken in earlier.

"My goodness… It's a cat…" said Sophie. "I do recall Calcifer mentioning an animal got inside the castle. Is it tame?"

"You're darn right it is, lady!" snarled Muta.

"Dear me, it talks!" said Sophie, surprised, but not to such a high degree as Haru might have expected. Perhaps it was because she was the wife of a wizard, Haru thought.

"Is it… bespelled? Transformed? A demon? Is it yours?" interrogated Sophie.

"I… I don't think so," said Haru glancing her eyes expectedly towards Muta.

Muta looked back at Haru with repulsion. "The answer is _no_," he emphasized with a groan. "Where's Baron?"

"I'm over here," came Baron's voice from behind. Haru turned to see that Baron had removed his jacket and hat and folded them neatly in his arms. "I was just admiring this charming home of yours, Sophie."

"Oh, why, thank you," Sophie replied with a cute curtsy. "It is actually a small castle. It needed some considerable cleaning; of course, Howl was such a disorderly creature. Why don't I put on some tea for all of you?"

"That would be too kind of you, Mrs. Witch," remarked Baron. "But we have yet to speak with-!" He was stopped by a whir of orange that rushed past her.

"Master Howl said he'll be out for the day!" shouted the whir apparently created by a gangly teenage boy with untamed orange hair as he darted through the room.

"Markyl, when did you come back?" asked Sophie, who seemed surprised at the appearance of the boy. "This is Markyl, he is the apprentice to Howl," she introduced to the guests.

"Just now," panted Markyl. "Master Howl said he will be out for the whole day and… and he said he's sorry that he will be unable to speak with the guests tonight."

"I think we might have spent too much valuable time here already," said Baron.

"OH! Hold on!" he shouted and ran up to Calcifer who had upon his head a metal pot that steamed and seemed to scream as if it had life of its own. "Calcifer! Don't burn it! Don't burn it! Master Howl said this is for the girl-!"

"I don't cook! I don't cook!" whined Calcifer. "Get this pot off my head!"

"What's Calcifer heating for Howl, Markyl?" asked Sophie who narrowed her eyes.

"A potion. I don't know," mumbled Calcifer rapidly. He quickly put the pot off Calcifer, ladeled some liquid out of it into a bowl, and ran upstairs with it before Sophie could respond.

"Well, I worry about that boy," declared Sophie. "I would inquire, but I'm afraid it would be too exhausting to meddle into Howl and Markyl's tricky schemes until after I have finished cleaning. God! Why does the floor look so filthy all of a sudden? I could have sworn I swept this pile of dust right here!" murmured Sophie as she brushed herself away as quickly as Markl took off.

"Well…" sighed Baron. "More delays it would seem…"

"Come on, Baron! Let's look around the town!" proposed Haru. "We have plenty of time! And then we'll talk to the wizard after that!"

Baron smiled. Who would ever expect him to say no to anyone?

Muta rolled his eyes and curled back onto the couch once again.

"Nah… I'll pass…"

"Wouldn't expect any less of you, Muta…"

"Hehe. I try," Muta chuckled, closing his eyes.

……………………………………………………..

A much uncalled for knock came at the door when Chihiro, still fuming from the wizard and his actions, wanted to speak to no one but her friends and couldn't.

"Go away," grumbled Chihiro from her pillow. The wizard put this spell on her; made her feel so horrible and sick right now. She had no way of contacting her friends. She had no way of finding Haku and Bou. And no way of defeating this cowardly wizard.

The knock repeated and followed with a voice. "Uh, hello in there? Can I come in now?"

Chihiro rubbed her eyes. The voice sounded pleasant enough. And despite the recent going ons, pleasantness in this awkward and maddening time seemed just what the doctor ordered. She hesitated, but she eventually called out, "Okay…"

The door obliged by opening by itself so that a boy about the same age as Haru could step in without spilling the bowl of a delicious smelling soup.

He glanced towards Chihiro's despondent face and glanced around, as if to see that no one's looking. "I'm Markyl," he whispered quickly.

"Hello Markyl," replied Chihiro's voice which, like the soup, was thick in sound and seething in temperature.

"Master Howl told me to give this to you," he muttered with downcast eyes at the bowl of swimming vegetables and spices.

Although Chihiro's stomach grumbled in anticipation, Chihiro turned her face proudly like the heroes in the storybooks that rejected to eat the rancid gruel their evil captors served them. "I won't eat it…"

"M-Master Howl told me you had to eat it," mumbled the surprised and dejected Markyl.

Chihiro looked down upon it with one open eye and frowned. She turned her nose away from it. "It's probably poison."

She was shocked when he did not correct her but grimaced and hastily stirred it with a spoon when the seasonings were separating. Now she was truly scared for her life. "M-Master Howl said… I-It's good you know, nice and warm. He said you had to eat it."

"I-It's…" she stumbled. Darn it, it probably was poison after all, she thought. "It's too spicy, anyway. My mom… she says you shouldn't eat spicy things when you're sick."

Markyl kept his eyes down at the soup and wiped the stirring spoon on the napkin folded on the tray. "M-Master Howl-"

"Master Howl this! Master Howl that! You sound like a parrot!" She gave an exasperated sigh and fell against her mattress. She was surprised at how angry and tired she felt. She certainly did not behave this way when she was captive in the spirit world, but now she felt really pissed off.

Markyl stared, seemingly frightened by this ten-year-old girl. "I'm sorry!"

Chihiro moaned but eventually reconciled. After throwing out everything she had in her stomach the last night, she felt ravenous. She leaned over and took a spoonful of the soup to her mouth. Markyl seemed really happy and a grin spread across his ears.

The soup really hit the spot. Its piquant flavor of onions, garlic, and tomatoes cleared her sinuses and filled her body with warmth. It seemed to fill her with… pleasure. It was astonishing how good the soup made her feel. It wasn't particularly tasty—just a thin broth, rather watery and over-flavored with spices and floating shreds of chicken. But it made Chihiro feel strange things, like a sense of… warmth, happiness, belongingness…

Chihiro dropped the spoon. This wasn't poison, it was just magic: magic to make the broth taste good and her to feel better much like the cake that Haku fed her during her rough first night working in the bath house. However, Haku was kind and the wizard Howl was devious. It was probably just an excuse, a medicine, not for Chihiro's sickness, but for Howl's guilt. She refused to let him get the better of her.

She shrank away from the delicious, good-feeling soup and the orange haired boy named Markyl. She shivered in the covers and did not remember what the boy did after that or at what time did he leave her, sick and crying in the room.

………………………

The wind carried the salty spray of the sea above Haru's brown hair which grew damp and crisp in feel. The warm sun felt good beating down upon her shoulders, and her heart raced as she watched the sailboats drift by, fish mongers slapping wet fillets of their choicest fish or lobster claw, a group of elegantly dressed women in hats that seemed just piles of feathers, flowers, and ribbons who waved fans while they sighed in the heat and drowned their English coos and caws with the cry of gulls above.

Haru was even almost run over by a small buggy! Haru was just amazed to see such a car which seemed antique looking in her eyes. However, the driver was a kind man with a pale complexion and piercing eyes who apologized and helped Haru up gracefully.

He asked to be pointed to the wizard Jenkins' estate, but Haru just shrugged replying she was new to the country and was acquainted with a wizard Howl but had never heard of such a wizard named Jenkins. While the driver returned to his white car, Haru continued to walk the cobblestone block with Baron in her purse.

"This is amazing, Baron! It's like something out of a history book!" Haru cried excitedly. She lowered her voice when she realized she was attracting eyes, and whispered quietly to the bag. "The dock, the people, the ships… the warmer weather too! Maybe it's not spring here like it is in Japan."

"Yes, it is certainly picturesque," agreed Baron. "We were definitely in the city too long," he said, fanning his hat to his face in the sun.

"My heart is pounding…" Haru admitted with a blush.

"You're catching adventure and quest at its peak, Haru," explained Baron. "Meeting new people, seeing new places… it's one of the benefits of the occupation, I suppose…"

"You must _love_ doing this Baron. And to think I was afraid to come here in the first place…"

Baron's golden eyes widened. "Really?"

Haru blushed once more. "Yeah… well, at the time we entered the closet door in Rivendell, I felt this strange foreboding, like, maybe I wasn't cut out for this and that something bad was going to happen and I would never come back home again," said Haru. "But that's all gone now! I've never been so happy in my life!"

Baron's whiskers twitched. "Haru…"

"Do you think we should turn this way? It looks like there's some kind of antique shop over there-!"

"Haru…"

"Oh my! Look at this pastry shop! And the éclairs-!"

"HARU!"

Haru turned, finally realizing Baron was shouting at her from inside the back pack. "Huh?"

"Haru, usually it's… usually it's not always this easy, you know. Sure we visit new worlds and everything… but there's also a sense of danger in it too, Haru."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… sometimes… it can get very dangerous. Not everyone you deal with is admirable, and not all the places you go are so wonderful. We've just been very lucky, Haru. Keep that in mind, please."

Haru's beaming smile became a disconcerted frown.

"We haven't really gotten far as well, and time's running short. This wizard Howl… I've been getting the feeling he's avoiding us…"

"Well you don't know _that_, Baron, but-"

"And there's seriousness in the situation too!" continued Baron, his voice growing stern and his face looming with a frightening look of dread. "A boy has been kidnapped, Haru, and he is the son of a revered witch who dwells in the spirit world! The kidnappers we might face… well, they would not be very kind, you see…"

"O-Oh…"

"We must remember who we're doing this for, Haru…" said Baron, resuming his calmer tone and staring Haru in the face. "Madam Yubaba for finding her son, and Chihiro for helping her find her friend."

"I know, Baron…" mumbled Haru, realizing that just for a second she had lost herself there. What was this, a vacation? Two people were missing! No wonder Chihiro always looks so melancholy, this isn't her adventure, in a sense. The tiny girl with fearful eyes and scrawny legs was trying so hard to find her lost friend, her lost love!

"We ought to head back now," mumbled Baron, extending his cane towards the sky. "It's growing dark."

"Baron… I'm sorry…"

She was relieved to see a smile upon the cat's face. "No worry. Let's just focus on more pressing matters for the time being, shall we?"

Haru nodded and trod back in the direction she came.

…………………………………

The single, solid day stretched for long hours of mundane lying and sitting on the bed. The only act of spontaneity Chihiro could manage was a shift in position, which was a rather dull task that only made the day seem even longer.

Once upon a time, she tried to roll off her bed, but found herself unable to. The blanket instantly grabbed her before she reached the floor, and dragged her back onto the bed. She decided that escaping was futile since the spell prevented her from leaving the bed, and it took all her energy just to try.

The orange-haired boy named Markyl returned to the room at a time Chihiro was sourly hoping for company. She snubbed off the bowl of soup he had brought, once again, in his hands.

"No more magic," she mumbled.

"Oh. Okay," was his answer.

But he put the soup upon the lamp desk next to the bed, and with that, he left as quickly as he came. She gobbled the soup up regrettably once he had left, simply because it was something to _do_.

……………………………………..

Haru and Baron returned to the wizard Howl's estate with the smell of dinner wafting into the noses.

"Oh, just in time!" called Sophie setting the table at the center of the room. "I just finished cooking and was afraid I'd have to get Markyl to fetch you."

"Where's Chihiro?" asked Haru, glancing around. She had almost forgotten about the strange girl, and wondered at where she had been all this time.

"Dear heavens!" cried Sophie. "The little girl I poisoned? Howl put her on the bed in the extra bedroom, but dear me, I had forgotten all about the poor thing!"

Sophie was about to walk upstairs but was halted abruptly when Markyl blocked her.

"No you can't come up here!"

"What were you doing up there, Markyl? I could have sworn you were downstairs."

"Practicing my magic," mumbled the boy.

"Which, like I said, you normally practice downstairs…" replied Sophie, eyeing the teen. "Anyway, let me pass, Markyl. I'm afraid I've been so busy cleaning this disgusting filth of a castle that I forgot to check up on her!"

"Which is exactly why you can't come up here!" said Markyl. "She's… she's sick."

"She's sick!?" shouted Sophie, pushing past Markyl, nearly knocking the boy off the stairs. He ran up the stairs once again and grabbed her arm to stop her.

"No! I'm not supposed to let you in! Master Howl's orders!" screamed the boy, practically using all his might to stop her from going up the stairs.

"Howl said what?" demanded Sophie. "I don't listen to him! If the girl is sick, she needs tending to. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"No! I can't! Let you! Do that!" struggled Markyl in between grabbing Sophie by the waist to anchor her down; which was difficult, since her waistline was rather expanded. "Master Howl! Said! You can't! Go in! Cuz of! The baby!"

"The baby?" said Sophie, finally stopping and nearly toppling Markyl over once again.

"He doesn't want you to get sick and harm the baby! That's why he put the girl in my care!"

"Well, I know you of all people are responsible enough to take care of her, Markyl, but her friends should really wish to see her."

"Well they can't! She's… very contagious! Only I can go in there… b-because… because of my magic! A-and… uh… hey is that mud on the floor?"

"Aack!" Sophie shouted as she huffed down the stairs and wiped it with a dirty rag. "How in the king's honorable name did that get here!?"

Markyl breathed a sigh of relief and went downstairs to the dining table. He served the food quickly to the guests, and helped Sophie get into her seat.

"I'm afraid your little friend, can't join us, my chickens," apologized Sophie. "Markyl tells me she's ill."

Haru and Baron looked up from their meals and exclaimed in unison, "She's ill!" Muta, however, continued his meal.

"Yes, but Markyl is taking good care of her, I'm sure!" continued Sophie. "He's a very responsible young man, and knows a good deal of spells to heal her."

"Why is she sick?" asked Haru.

"I must apologize, Haru," said Sophie. "I accidentally poisoned her with an herb to test the goodness of her heart. That and the fatigue from shifting worlds must have weakened her, but it will pass eventually."

"Y-You poisoned her?" mumbled Haru.

"Mrs. Howl, we are much delayed already," came Baron with a voice of concern. "Are you sure we can't just see-"

"Now, now, settle down, young man," answered Sophie. "Once Howl gets back from god knows where, I will see to it personally that he treats the girl if Markyl is unable to. But for now, let's eat!"

The guests were taken aback but felt they had to oblige and began their dinners in silence. It was delicious food to say the least, the meats were quality for the occasion (bought strait from the finest butchers in Ingary) and the fish fresh from the sea. It was the sort of food that tasted good by means far more admirable than magic—an experienced hand, a knack for good cooking without spells, and a courteous heart of a charming hostess. Despite this, Haru felt queasy when the hearty English food sank to her stomach during the silence. There were many of tasty plums and mincemeats and all sorts of fish, chicken, and vegetables, but she desperately longed for a ball of rice to balance out the saltiness of the meat and a bit of conversation to balance the stillness.

"So…" started Baron, sensing the need for conversation, much to Haru's relief. "You are a witch, Mrs. Howl?"

"More or less," replied Sophie, shrugging her arms. "I learn a few things from Howl, here and there, but I'm not as good at it as he or Markyl is. I rarely use it, and when I do… well, it's not the kind of wizarding one would expect."

"I'm afraid I don't follow…" said Baron.

"Well, I'm not good at memorizing spells and chants and such," muttered Sophie, fumbling with the edge of her dress.

"I use the simple, more amateur way I suppose…." She looked up. "I'm guessing you'd like a demonstration."

"Oh yes, please!" said Haru eagerly, to which Markyl just rolled his eyes.

"W-well," Sophie stumbled and glanced at the food which had lost its heat through the course of conversation. All stared at her intently as she focused her eyes upon the slab of fish and spoke.

"Come now, fish. Heat up for us, please. I'd say you don't enjoy being dead and all, so could you please warm up so we can eat you and get it all over with? Hurry now, chop-chop!"

The fish on the plate wiggled for a moment and then jumped into the air, as if it full of life and spirit once again. It flopped onto the plate, piping hot with steam trailing out of its gaping mouth once again.

"That was amazing!" exclaimed Haru, reaching for a taste of the fish.

"That was awful!" shouted Markyl in disgust. "All she did was talk to it!"

"Well it worked!" Sophie shot back in defense.

Markyl snatched the plate while people were eagerly reaching for a piece of it and glowered. "You're an embarrassment to us wizards."

He flipped the fish on the plate like a chef and it shimmered in air. When it landed, each iridescent scale was glistening with the different colors of the rainbow.

Haru and the guests shouted with amazement and applauded while Sophie muttered, "It looks highly inedible now…"

"That's just the beginning," smiled Markyl.

He flipped it in the air once again and it melted. A puddle of rainbow-colored water splashed down onto the plate. He flipped again and the water huddled together and hardened and became a tiny, colored ice figure of a ballerina. In the next flip, the ice figure expanded into a live parakeet which shrieked and flew around the room to the many "Ooooos" and "Aaaaahs" of the guests. The bird instinctively landed back on the dish and Markyl flipped the plate so that the feathered animal shimmered and ballooned into a tall glass of rubbery cubes of colored gelatin with silver spoons and a cherry included.

He set the plate down triumphantly and served everyone a bowl.

"The ballerina and the bird were impractical. And it doesn't seem clean to eat a desert that was once a _bird_," critiqued Sophie, but the guests seemed to disagree and started to eat the gelatin.

However, in one fell swoop, all the glasses of gelatin were spirited away from the table in a white blur. Everyone gasped in dismay when they saw the fat cat Muta smiling at the end of the table and surrounded by empty dishes.

"Muta!" they all shouted in unison.

"See? Best magic trick of all. I made them disappear."

……………………………….

R&R


	7. In which Suliman recieves a letter

I've hired a friend to help me with the Japanese culture in case I screw up in this fanfic. Lol. She's not getting paid. Of course, that'll mean she's going to drop by my house and make me cook her something for lunch. I just thought I'd acknowledge her right now.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 7: In which Madame Suliman receives a letter

The surroundings of Chihiro's dream were of oozing liquid, familiarly like the discomforting texture of the stink spirit she had to muscle her way through so long ago.

She squat, her skinny knees deep in the putrid smelling liquid, clutching a large bowl and spooning gulps of fire into her mouth voraciously.

"I need to find Haku… I need to find Haku…" she chanted, her eyes entranced at some distant nothing. She rocked herself like a child and forced another gulp of the viscous ooze from the bowl. "I need to find Haku… Why won't you let me talk about him?"

She did not notice the glowing, white figure approaching her, as she broke her trance and looked at the empty bowl and moaned, "Oh no… it's done…" She scraped the deep bucket with her fingers and pulled out the last bits of the similar ooze and pushed it into her mouth. Clumps of the slime stuck to her face and hair as she reached back into the bowl to scrape out some more.

"It can't be done… It can't… Ooooh…"

"Chihiro?"

She was deaf to the name, and showed no response that she knew the boy was standing besides her.

"Chihiro?" Haku said again, kneeling down to her and rubbing his hand against her back. "It's okay…"

"It's not okay… I can't find him… There's no more…" she mumbled despondently. She handed him the empty bucket as proof. "It's all gone."

A disconcerted expression graced Haku's furrowed brow as he took the bucket from her and glanced into it.

"Who gave this to you?" he asked with seriousness in his voice.

"The w-wizard… The wizard… I c-can't remember…" Chihiro mumbled.

"Chihiro? Chihiro! Look at me!" Haku shouted, grasping her by the shoulders and shaking her until she moaned. "You need to tell me this wizard's name! You need to tell me who did this to you!"

"H-he's… His name is…I really can't say," she answered indifferently, dipping her hand into the grime she squat in and drawing it into her mouth.

"Stop that! Don't do that!" Haku snarled as he shoved Chihiro's hand out of her mouth.

"But… I really should…"

"Listen Chihiro. Don't eat anything this wizard gives you! Refuse anything that he's put a spell on!" he shouted tugging her hands away from her face. "But you need to tell me who this wizard is or I cannot find him… And you need to fight him, Chihiro. You need to be strong."

Chihiro shrugged and her head rolled into Haku's chest. Her ankles gave way, and her body fell into the muck.

"Chihiro? Chihiro! Come on, Chihiro. You remember me, right?"

"Oh, wheeeeere's Haku…?" she chirped, as her body began to sink in the gray-washed surroundings.

"Chihiro! Hold on to me! I'm loosing you!" Haku shouted, clutching the upper-half of Chihiro's body. The muck slowly encroached onto her chest and then her face, pulling her into the abyss below.

In that abyss was just darkness, the familiar pangs of the piano fading away and growing distant until Chihiro was met by a different song. One that had words, many words, in a language she had never heard of… and she followed.

…………………………..

It was Howl's enchanting voice that called Chihiro back to the bleak reality. It was nighttime once again, and she shivered beneath her blanket as the wizard's cool hand touched her hot forehead.

"I have to keep doing that. The spell I put on you can easily swallow you up if I don't keep drawing you back out."

Chihiro turned over and gave the wizard the cold shoulder. The events of the dream were hazy, and she faintly recalled that Haku was the one who saved her from being gobbled up by the muck, no matter what the lecherous wizard said.

"I'll make the bed more comfortable, if you want. And I'll open up the window this time," Howl said, almost apologetically.

"Why can't you just let us go? We'll leave quietly, and you don't need to go with us. But just let me go…"

Howl frowned, but was indifferent to her question as he sat by her bedside for the longest time. It was making Chihiro very uncomfortable since although she loathed this devious wizard, she has grown to find something mesmerizing about the object of her hatred. Because this wizard and the orange haired boy, Markyl, were the only ones she could talk to, she found herself waiting for them, yearning for their company.

"Believe it or not, if Madame Yubaba catches wind of my absence from your little quest," he finally said. "She will wring my sorry neck, and my family and my castle will be in danger. No doubt she will kill my son for the loss of her own."

"She w-wouldn't…" Chihiro staggered, unsure of her own words.

"No?" he asked with a chuckle. "Perhaps we are confusing the wrong Yubabas, because (last I checked) the one I knew was a vicious, shrill creature notorious for her spiteful witchery. I mean, with all due respect, she turned your own parents into pigs, enslaved you at a bathhouse, and-"

"What do you know about that!?" Chihiro thundered at the knowledge of her own past.

But Howl just returned her a blank, glassy-eyed stare. "We wicked enjoy a good heart to heart now and then with each other. I know all about you, Chihiro. The little human girl that got spirited away to a magical place and through tactless mettle and a compassionate heart fought for her freedom from the claws of an evil witch. It's a charming bedtime story to say the least."

"Stop it! Don't talk about it like that!" screamed Chihiro, her voice seething. She found it extremely unnerving to find out that this wizard whom she hated and idolized so much knew yet knew nothing about knew so abundantly about her in stead. And she despised the way he was recapitulating the scariest, most harrowing time of her life as if it were a whimsical, silly fairy-tale.

"Do you ever just go away!?" she wailed, pulling the pillow against her ears.

"Dear me, and here I was thinking I could do you a favor," he muttered sardonically as if he had taken bitter umbrage at her offense. "After all, Markyl told me you were bored."

He got up and left the room with an offended frown marring his glowing visage. The wizard's words rendered Chihiro into a seething, weeping wreck as she curled her knobbly legs up against her flat chest. For the first time since she had left to this mad, mad world, she was scared for her life, sorry at her situation, and desperately yearning for her parents. Thick, oozing lumps of hate, malice, and vengeance sat heavily and saturated in her sticky heart in a place where her yen for Haku once sat.

And in the darkness of her grimy, furnace heart, she lit her own candle. And she resolved to plot against this evil wizard, to thwart him, and to defeat him.

………………………………………….

"Haru, you understand how pressed for time we are, correct?"

"Of course, Baron."

"And you know how important it is to retrieve Yubaba's son, right?"

"I do, Baron."

"Then why… are we… elegantly clad for an outing and riding in a carriage in a lavish town when, last I looked outside, we were located at a port?"  
"Well, we are off to visit Sophie's sister, who will then introduce us to the king. And we have to be well-dressed if we are to visit a king," stated Haru, matter-of-factly.

"But-" began Baron's retort.

"I know we have to go find Haku and Bou, but we can't do anything while Chihiro's sick. We need her expertise and she awfully wants to see Haku. We wouldn't even know who Haku is or what he looks like," replied Haru, smartly and a bit bold being flustered by Baron's incessant eagerness, which—in her mind—was highly impractical. She was tired of being the third wheel amongst Baron and Muta when, clearly, she could be of help when she put her mind to it. They were obviously sitting ducks for the time being without the help of Chihiro or the wizard.

Baron sighed and continued to stare at the window in a dreamy, cat-like manner as if the world whizzing by was only entertaining when one sat back to watch.

"You look lovely in my sister's old dress, Haru," warmed Sophie. "I'm so relieved it fit! You have such a svelte body, you know. And the hat, it really matches those dark eyes."

"Thank you," said Haru. She had never worn such exquisite clothing in her life, and they looked so stunningly antique that she felt as if she was at a costume party. Of course, she thought to herself amusingly, the first thing she thought of when she saw it was… _Lolita,_ with all the frills and things—which she swore she could never pull off to Hiromi, despite the pressing pleas. However, Sophie had a good eye for color, probably from being a florist. Haru also recalled Sophie telling her that she once inherited a hat business but hated it so.

Despite throwing an overwhelmingly vibrant dress upon Haru, Sophie was clothed in a rather modest dress of a faded color. It seemed that such a confident woman had little assurance to offer in her appearance. Luckily, Sophie radiated with power and character that ebbed past the plainness and homeliness of the dress—her flashing eyes, her peevish smile. Haru felt as if this woman was beautiful in her own right while she herself was festooned in a dress so beautiful it spat upon Haru's lack of confidence and fears, like a skinny (not "svelte" at all) child dressed in her mother's clothing.

Of course, Baron sensed her uneasiness (as it seemed rather easy for Baron to read Haru's mind these days) and acknowledged with a charming smile, "Yes, you are quite enrapturing," to which Haru blushed a color to rival that of her dress.

Upon finally reaching the Kingsbury Grand café, the trolley screeched to a halt and the engine snuffled in relief.

"Um, are we here?" Haru asked Sophie who looked rather despondent as she continued to stare out at the hustling crowd and cars outside the window.

"Mrs. Howl?" repeated Haru, reaching over in an attempt to shake the woman's arm.

The plain looking woman finally seemed to break off her trance and mumbled to Haru, "Huh? I'm sorry?"

"We've arrived, Mrs. Howl," answered Haru with a look of concern.

"Oh dear me, I spaced out didn't I? It happens when you're my age," muttered Sophie, seemingly to herself. Haru helped the pregnant woman clamber out of the rickety coach while bewildered at the woman's response. Surely Sophie was only… a few years older than herself.

Baron swept himself into Haru's purse before Markyl scrambled out excitedly with a distressed-looking bouquet of flowers with petals askew clutched in his hands.

"Can't you control your hormones for one minute, boy!" snapped Sophie as Markyl brushed past. "It's not like my sister is going anywhere!" Markyl, however, paid no mind to the command and was striding briskly while humming a romantic tune the sailors at the port often sang.

With Markyl currently being preoccupied, Haru had to help Sophie walk across the street and into the charming café.

"My sister used to work closer to the castle," Sophie explained with a huffed voice from carrying her extra burden. "But once she found out that I had married the wizard Howl and that he had magic portals, she was so eager to try them all. She took quite a liking to Kingsburry, and it suits her. I'm glad that she can make a modest living here for herself, baking in a café. Personally, I think it's too excessively grandeur. See those barristers over-?"

"Oh Sophie! It's been too long!" shrieked a fluster of pink frills and blonde curls. In the midst of the frill and curl was the most stunningly attractive face that Haru had ever seen. Haru now seemed even more ashamed to be borrowing the dress of such a beautiful woman. Her porcelain doll face and saucer eyes reminded Haru of the angel printed on a tea set her mother once bought from France.

"Goodness! You're so big!" the angel chimed as she embraced her sister and fawned over the swelling abdomen. "Dear Lord, I'm going to be an Auntie! Oh--!"

"It's so good to see you to, Lettie," replied Sophie, happily but less overwhelmingly ecstatic by far.

"Oh! And who's that over there? Wearing my old dress too!" cried Lettie as she directed her wide eyes and batting eyelashes towards Haru, who was feeling greatly uncomfortable.

"She looks mighty peculiar," clucked Lettie to Sophie, not at all inaudible. "She's a _foreigner_, isn't she? One of your husband's friends from that bizarre place you told me about? Oh, what did you call it… sounded like a fish, right?"

"Whales," answered Sophie. "And she's not from there exactly, but she's not from here either…"

To this Lettie guffawed loudly which sounded like the pattering of doves' wings. "Oh Sophie! You? Talking in riddles just like a witch? Dearest me! And I hope that heartless wizard is good to you?"

"Howl's… good, yes," replied Sophie with surprising solemnity in comparison to her bubbly sister's bursting visage. Haru found it strange that although Sophie was extremely strong-minded in the moving castle and in front of Howl, she did not display her usual cocky attitude in front of her equally powerful sister.

Haru's confusion was broken by a loud shout from her side.

"LETTIE!" shouted Markyl.

"Oh Markyl! My love!" shrieked Lettie as Markyl literally swept her off her feet and kissed her bright cherry lips.

"Not in a dignified establishment!" snarled Sophie, prying Markyl off of Lettie by his jacket. "You'll get my sister fired!"

"Aww don't be a spoilsport, Sophie…!" whined Markyl like a child who was refused candy. "Besides," he chuckled with a taunt grin drawn up on his freckled face. "You and Master Howl do much more dragon-snaking-"

"MARKYL!" shouted Sophie with utmost horror, her face flushing a vibrant color to match that of the strawberry tarts.

"Oh, well! Look at the time!" Lettie gasped. "We better head to the palace now! The King's expecting us, after all!" With a ruffle of lace and ribbons, they were ushered out of the café before Sophie could smite the foolish Markyl with her vindictive, sovereign power.

………………………………..

The lamps were dimmed so the lambent glass walls of the greenhouse could flicker with the small figments and shadows of the spell the head sorceress was about to cast upon the castle.

His majesty, the king, the sovereign diadem of Ingary, could do nothing but brush his broom-end whiskers with a gloved finger in appreciation and gaze at the frightening distortions looming over his head and around himself.

The otherworldly beings invoked took a monstrous form for a flicker of a second and then melted and collided like string on a tapestry until it became a thick layer of shadow plastered upon the walls. With the spell cast, the lights were turned back on, and the king and his royal sorceress stepped out of the large bejeweled circle on the ground.

"I never get tired of watching you do that!" the emperor guffawed in an obvious attempt to break the uneasiness of the frightening spell.

"Of course," cooed the sorceress called Madame Suliman. "It does serve a vital importance other than your entertainment, your grace."

"I see…" replied the king as he stroked his mustache. "I've been watching you do this one often, as of late. What's it for?"

"Just a few protection spells," said Madame Suliman.

"Aw, yes!" retorted the king haughtily with a smile. "But only recently you started doing these in particular! You can't fool this old king! Am I right?"

His majesty's smile stopped short as, just as the shadows had, the sorceress' smile flickered across her face and her eyes glistened. But only for a second, for she just chortled and dismissed herself from the greenhouse.

She had no need to call for an attendant; one immediately greeted her, another blonde doppelganger of her own creation with a charming smile and glassy eyes. She was struck by a sense of déjà vu every time she saw them, a phenomena which has caused many esteemed acquaintances of the magical sort to inquire as to why she modeled her servants in the image most taken by wizard apprentices. Or, for those who knew better, why she actually modeled them after her former apprentice (and die-hard maverick) who called himself Howl.

In truth, they were actually part experiment, part spiteful yen, and perhaps part manner of habit. Whether she actually created them with the intention of creating another of Howl's prowess or out of longing for the unnervingly charismatic and hauntingly beautiful nature of Howl, no one knew for sure. In any case, she had certainly created impressive replicas of Howl. Some fools even mistake them for the actual and think she still apprenticed the obscure wizard. She, however, always viewed them as the flickering shadow of what Howl actually was.

"That actually took the lot out of me," Madame Suliman mumbled, clutching her chest, and the slightest bit daunted. "Quite unfortunate that Howl left this poor old woman without a replacement," she chuckled, nearly to herself and not to the glassy-eyed duplicate that stood before her who listened, but had no soul to actually care for her words.

After she had regained herself, she gently commanded, "Take me down to the entranceway." The little replica nodded modestly, and with that, began to wheel the sorceress' moving chair by the handles.

Another blonde attendant, who looked exactly like the first, entered the room before they left and handed the sorceress a piece of paper.

"And here I was hoping I could avoid it," she mused with a grin as she waved her attendant wheeling her chair to stop and took the paper.

After she read for quite some time (which did not matter to the replicas which stood silently as no normal person could do), an unnerving smile crept upon Madame Suliman's wrinkled face.

"Well," she stated, without a trace of surprise. "There is uproar amongst our wizard kin upon the abduction of Yubaba's beloved first born son. But this I already know. And it seems our venerable friend has called upon the aid of the wizard Howl who has since fled the scene… how scandalous." She handed the parchment back to her attendant.

"They really have the audacity of begging me to contact him," she said to herself, her weasel-like sneer growing mores sinister. "Indirectly, of course, but I see through their intentions. You know, I almost saw it coming. There is foul magic brooding in the air, but even at this juncture, it is still premature. Only likely someone's son would be kidnapped. Only likely Howl would be summoned. Only likely they would ask me to catch him. It's all a rather interesting turn of events. But lucky for me…" she said, her tone slowing as she brushed the curtain gently with the back of her hand and peered out the window to see a plain looking speck of a person amongst a other specks exiting a cab at the foot of the stairs to the palace. "His blushing bride is here…"

What did she think of Howl after all these years? He was the most apparent person she had ever met, it was hard not to. When one sees Howl, passes him through the streets, brushes against him in a crowd, squints into the horizon to see his mismatch castle, one never forgets him. She still remembers the first time she saw him vividly, as if it happened yesterday. She can recall all of these events in her old age, his broad shouldered uncle, ushering the fair and sickly-looking boy to the palace, a charming urchin who could use his eloquent, bewitching tongue to scam the cook for more loafs of bread, an adolescent growing more beautiful with each passing day that the maids and serving women melted at his slightest glance. And of course, there was his magic. Oh, if Howl made such a bewitching impression at first, it was nothing compared to bubbling wellspring of power that spilled out of him. She had never encountered an apprentice so adept, so heedlessly gifted who could perform high level spells after the few days he was apprenticed. No one has ever struck her with such enrapturing power that she wanted it the moment she saw him—his power, in her hands. Then, of course, there was the leaving. And the never-ending search for the disapparated boy. In retrospect, he could never actually belong in the palace which was just four walls and always firmly put in the ground. And she almost had him once, but then he married, surprisingly, and another witch controls his power now, the one she is about to reencounter in a few minutes.

Her guests that knew magic and a little history always inquired as to why she modeled her servants after wizard apprentices.

Out of habit, she would always say. It was just something I once did, but for some reason, never stopped.

And with that, she would put on her most unnervingly hospitable grin, and the conversation was dropped.

……………………………………………

"Ah-choo!" Sophie sneezed.

"God bless you, sister," beamed Lettie, handing a handkerchief.

"Thank you," muttered Sophie, vigorously rubbing the delicate lace on her reddened nose. "Did you say something, Haru?"

"Huh?"

"You just said something?"

"Oh, it's just a Japanese myth," said Haru, nervously, waving the eyes down. "It's just… You know… when you sneeze, someone is talking about you."

"That's mighty peculiar!" shouted a dumbstruck Lettie. "Wouldn't you have people sneezing everywhere then? Sophie would hate that! She's terrifyingly clean!"

"I'm not terrifyingly clean," grunted Sophie. "And it would be easy to think that way, the way you gossip." But she faltered in her retort, obviously uneasy at Haru's response.

"Don't talk to my Lettie that way!" gasped the love struck Markyl.

"Oh boy. The kid's finally talking back to me. He's become a man," Sophie groaned sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

"Can we just… go inside now?" asked Haru, although meekly because everyone seemed on ends.

Everyone seemed to agree that too much arguing, sneezing, and shouting had taken place to be necessary and proceeded to walk up the long stairway. Sophie could not help but notice how easier it was this time not that she wasn't as decrepit as she had been the first time she went to visit the palace. And, of course, she wasn't carrying Heen this time and found herself striding up the steps with pride while encouraging the tired and trailing group to catch up. Everyone felt like strangling her collared neck as they listened to her calls through their now itchy clothes and sweaty hair.

"I swear, if she says 'Keep going' one more time…" warned Markyl.

"It's a wonder she got up so fast!" marveled Lettie.

"Are you all right, Haru?" inquired Baron from the bag with concern in his voice.

"Oh, I'm all right," huffed Haru with a smile. "Maybe I shouldn't have daydreamed during P.E so much!"

"It's a pity I can't carry you…" mumbled Baron. "Like last time."

"Last time?" huffed Haru in between steps. "Oh yeah. I remember. Well. Now I'm carrying you! So I guess we're… square even!"

"Right," smiled Baron, as he disappeared in Haru's purse once again.

They finally reached the top to find Sophie scolding one of the vested kingsmen for not assisting people up the stairs. He remained indifferent as he ushered them into the castle.

However, upon entering the corridor they were stopped by a woman in a wheelchair whose appearance made Sophie gasp.

"Madame Suliman!" Sophie shouted in dismay at the aristocratic lady.

"Ah, it's so nice to see you again, Mrs. Pendragon. I suppose I must call you that, although, last time you entered the castle as his mother and now you come to me as his wife. It's all rather interesting isn't it?" the woman said with a cordial smile.

When Haru finally got to the end of the hallway to look upon the woman in the light, she found that she was a dignified looking woman with white hair tied neatly in a bun. Her deeply red velvet robe and bejeweled pendant hanging from her neck portrayed a sense of modesty rather than flashy. Although she had a pleasant smile and an innocent pink bonnet, there was something unnerving about her face and smile. There was a dark allure around her visage like a rattlesnake sounding its rattle. Like an animal knows when it faces a predator, Haru found that there was something quietly deadly and cunning about this woman. Haru found that she was quite different from the first witch she met, Yubaba, and knew that she should probably stay away from her.

"Excuse me," huffed the disgruntled Sophie as she carried her dress tales and faced the woman in the wheel chair. "We have an engagement with the king."

"As do I," replied the woman modestly and taking no offense by Sophie's curt outburst. "I have also been invited by the king to join you. However, I do ask that I may borrow the apprentice for the moment…"

"Markyl?" said Sophie, glancing towards the teen clutching Lettie in his arms. "Why do you need him?"

"His apprenticeship has already carried out much longer than normal. Usually those of his age already have patrons to sponsor them and credits to sorcery," explained Madame Suliman. "I was hoping, as the head sorceress of Ingary, to discuss his future plans as a wizard."

"He can become a good wizard on his own," spat Sophie. "And I can speak for him, he lives under my roof."

"No, I'm afraid he can't," replied Madame Suliman, brushing the edge of her silk sleeves casually. "And I do believe I know more of the sorcery field than you, no offense. He could never survive as a wizard if he sticks with a roaming apprentice drop-out with too many titles-"

To this, Sophie drew dangerously close to the woman so that there eyes met with fiery intensity. For the moment it looked as if Sophie was about to strike the old woman. "Don't talk about my husband that way," she warned through gritted teeth. "You don't know him."

"No, you are the one who doesn't know him." mumbled Madame Suliman as she drew her body up from the chair to confront Sophie's malevolent glare. "I understand Howl more than anyone in the world."

She reared her chair from Sophie's face and simply wheeled around her to the place where Markly stood. "I am the advocate of all that is magical, the court appointed sorceress of Ingary. What I am about to discuss with you, young Markyl, is something I am positive you will not turn down."

Markyl stood dumbfounded as she spoke, staring at the ground. He glanced at the fuming Sophie and at the peach-blossom Lettie before meekly replying, "I will… hear you out. Firstly, that is."

"Excellent," exclaimed Madame Suliman, clapping her hands. "Why don't I show you the way to the king's tea room before I chat with Markyl." The group stared at her but gradually obliged as they followed her chair down the hallway.

"Wait a moment," called Madame Suliman. Haru turned to find the sorceress addressing her. The chair pulled up to the side of Haru as the head sorceress extended her hand and peeled a small, thin object off of Haru's clothing. "You have something on you…"

Haru looked at the object held into the light between Madame Suliman's cuticles. Its opaque surface seemed to glimmer with the refracted light and made a tiny tinking sound against the sorceress' fingernails.

"A sequin?" guessed Haru judging it by its apparent size and texture.

"No, heavier. I think…" answered Madame Suliman peering at the intricate fragment inquisitively. "…It's a scale."

"Well, we ate fish for supper last night, and I'm such a mess sometimes that I must have-"

"Do you mind if I take this to my office to study?" inquired the sorceress stopping Haru's excuse short. She wheeled away before Haru could even answer, and the placid sorceress held such a frightening and intriguing look that Haru was reminded of a Japanese death god.

"My word…" the sorceress muttered to herself with breathless wonder as she left the room. "I can't image… I haven't seen one in years…"

………………………………………………….

R&R


	8. In which Chihiro plans against a wizard

Here's the next chapter! (I didn't want to leave you hanging for too long! XD)

Chapter 8: In which Chihiro plans to thwart a wizard

"You wished to speak with me, Madame Suliman?"

The head sorceress Madame Suliman bade Markyl into her study and sat him at the edge of the desk in a lavish chair while she sat at the head. She poured tea, without a word, into two china cups and set them at the table for Markyl.

"How long have you lived with Howl, Markyl?" she finally spoke as she stirred cream into her cup.

"Ten years or so," mumbled Markyl shyly. He was unsure of how to approach the sorceress. He had never met her in person, but heard a lot about her from his master. Despite this, he found the feeble woman to have something terrible about her. One could not help but be frightened by her presence and proceed with caution as if he were in a dragon's den and having tea with the bloody beast himself.

"And I understand that you were an orphan and lived on the streets before that, correct?" replied Madame Suliman.

"I suppose so, it was a long time ago," answered Markyl, shrugging.

"I see," acknowledge Madame Suliman. "And Howl, does he treat you well? Is he an adequate teacher?"

"I think so," mumbled Markyl. "Although..."

"Although?" inquired Suliman.

"H-He's never directly taught me magic. Most of the time he just leaves a spell or incantation for me to memorize and leaves me to handle his customers. But I have read a lot of his books, though."

Madame Suliman frowned, seemingly not receiving the response she expected, and stood up from her chair. "Terrible… Terrible…" she muttered.

"I'm sorry?"

"So you have no background, no understanding of the extent of your magical lineage. You're eighteen, an age most fledgling wizards have already left apprenticeship and gained some titles. And Howl has never directly educated you…" Madame Suliman shook her hand and ran her hands against her tightly wrapped bun. "And now… what are your future plans as a wizard?"

Markyl was taken aback. "I… I don't… know."

"I don't suppose you planned on staying with Howl your whole life, did you? Have you at least thought of what would come across the horizon, hmm? An occupation, a home, or perhaps… marriage?"

To this, Markyl stood erect and shouted with certainty, "Yes."

"I thought as much," said Madame Suliman with a coy smile. "That delightful pastry girl, Lettie, she is amiable?"

"I…" stumbled Markyl. "How did… you know she-?"

"Listen to me, Markyl," snapped Madame Suliman with seriousness in her voice. "I have seen it over and over again. Nothing saddens me more than an unemployed wizard who cannot support his spouse and home. So I am about to make an offer that you will _not_ refuse."

"I'm listening," assured Markyl, sitting at the edge of his chair eagerly.

"I want you to take my place as the head sorcerer. You will live in the palace with your wife and perform magic for the protection of his majesty. Lettie will live a comfortable life in luxury as the chief pastry chef for the king, as he happens to adore Lettie's bakings," explained Madame Suliman. "But you will not tell Howl, understand me? He had his chance, and he must not take this opportunity from you."

"R-Really?" exclaimed Markyl with disbelief. "I-I don't know what to say."

"Say 'yes,'" offered Suliman. "And you will be the most powerful wizard in all of Ingary."

"Oh, yes! Yes!" shouted Markyl. "Oh, Lettie will be so thrilled!"

"Indeed," smiled Madame Suliman, as she opened the door to exit the study. "It is a happy ending for us all… You shall meet with me each week so I may teach you the magic you shall be needing for this job. That book over there… will you hand me it?"

Markly turned his head to the book sitting on the counter of a bookshelf and fetched it.

"Glance over it, if you will," encouraged Suliman with a flick of her hand. "This book contains some of the best defensive spells that I use to protect the castle. Ancient ones that only few can still remember and disarm. You will study these tonight."

"But some of it is in Sanskrit," remarked Markyl as he flipped through the dusty pages. "Egyptian Hieroglyphics, Hebrew, Japanese…"

"You will have to learn all of these," insisted Suliman, cutting Markyl short. "A head sorcerer must be proficient in a myriad of spells and not just Wizard Latin and Wizard English. I will allow you to borrow that book for a week, and by then I want them _all_ mastered. Unlike Howl, I am no slump when it comes to my teachings."

"Yes, Madame Suliman," agreed Markyl.

"You are excused now," said Suliman, dismissing Markyl from her study. "Tell his majesty that I apologize for not joining him. Tell him I feel…oh… unwell."

"Yes… M-Master Suliman," said Markyl.

"Good boy," smiled Madame Suliman approvingly. "Before you go, do you think you can tell me what this is?"

Markyl leaned over the woman and squinted at the tiny scale she held in between her fingers.

"A dragon scale?" he said, almost instantly.

"Good, good," praised Suliman. "But anyone can tell me that much. However, when you get to be of my age and status you can also identify the species of dragon. Let me show you."

She brought out an elaborate array of silver tools and began to tap and prod the surface under the scope of a tunneling lens.

"The durable texture of it tells me its sub aquatic: sturdy but versatile for maneuvering through streams and deltas. The lightness of the keratinous structure means it's capable of flight, see? And the sheen… it seems to be an oriental sort of dragon. Not like our winged western friends, it's more serpentine and intelligent. Only these were able to escape the Great Serpent Massacre, not like the stupid beasts that invade the Wastes. But see this," She rubbed her finger upon the delicate surface and allowed Markyl to do the same.

"Feel that?"

"It's rough, almost like hair follicles."

"Good day, Markyl. That is all. You are excused," said Suliman as she unsheathed all the tools with quick precision and hid the shell in her sleeve.

"Master Suliman?"

"I just thought I'd introduce you to what may be your first task under my tutelage. But for now, I believe you have some good news to tell the pastry girl?"

Markyl was unsure of what to make of this, but having heard important information, he knew he had to share it with his Lettiekins and rushed out the door to tell her the good news.

………………………………..

As for Chihiro, less time was spent in the doldrums than the day before and more time was spent conquering the clock with her planning. She found that plotting was a much more enriching way to spend the long hours than sulking.

She knew now that she can not just _wait_ for Haku to come and find her. If she wanted to be reunited with her love, she was going to have to take action. And she was determined to do exactly that.

'I will need to arm myself,' she thought in the midst of her schematics. Although she had not come up with a plan for escape, she thought it favorable to plan that step first. 'After all, he is a wizard. Once I escape I might have to fight him, but with what?'

She studied the room she was trapped in and realized in dismay that it had so few commodities. The only things she could think of wielding were her pillow and the soup spoon, but that would just be stupid. She had no time to loose on nonsensical thoughts. But that lamp… she could use it to bash him on the head and knock him unconscious. Or at least threaten to do it.

But there was the bed… she could not leave it. There was powerful magic on it that she knew she could not break. And she was no witch, she could not possible learn how to break the enchantment.

"Chihiro? I brought you dinner," called Markyl's voice through other side of the door.

"Come on in," answered Chihiro, trying to maintain herself and look as innocent as possible. She was untrustworthy of this magic stuff and guessed the wizard folk might have a way to spot a liar and a plotter.

Markyl opened the door and rushed in with a large book carried under the tray.

"I'm sorry I came so late," he apologized as he set the tray and unwrapped the silverware from the folded napkin. "I was just so consumed with this spell book Madame Suliman gave it. It's so frustrating! Sanskrit, can you imagine? I was always bad at language charms. I can't make out any of this!"

Chihiro was about to make a look of uninterest, but thought against it. This was a spell book. Maybe if she could slip it out of his arms, she could read it herself and break the spell on the bed.

Unfortunately, Markyl clutched the book as if it was his very heart beating in his fingers. He was even skimming it while stirring spices into the soup and cursed when he splashed the sauce on the tattered, musty pages absentmindedly.

"Is it that hard?" asked Chihiro, feigning child-like interest that she could mimic from experience.

"It's awful stuff!" scowled Markyl, not even taking his eyes off the book. "Some of it's so ancient the magic probably doesn't work for the words anymore. And all these languages! I can't master these in a week, let alone decipher it!"

"Is Master Howl making you study that book?"

"Nah, it was Madame Suliman, the court appointed sorceress of Ingary. She actually choose me to replace her, and I will live in the palace with Lettie! Can you believe it? She was Howl's teacher, you know, before he escaped," explained Markyl.

These wizard dealings seemed complicated to Chihiro, but she tried to swallow it all as she dined on the soup knowing that it might be useful information later. She was shocked though, to see the usually somewhat cheerful boy look so sullen, and felt deeply sorry for him.

"Is it… that big a deal?" asked Chihiro, with true sympathy.

"Madame Suliman was right, and I'm glad she told me the hard truth before it was too late," mumbled Markyl, shaking his head and sighing often. "I was being inadequately taught, but I need this job. I need to be a stronger wizard. I need to provide a comfortable life for Lettie."

"I wish I could help," said Chihiro, turning from her lying position to her side to face the despondent teen. "But I don't know anything about magic."

Markyl agreed and shook his head. Then, he was hit by an epiphany and his face shot up at Chihiro. "You can!"

"W-What?" exclaimed Chihiro.

"Howl said you're Japanese!" Markyl exclaimed. "You can read some of these spells!"

'Bingo,' thought Chihiro. The means to escape and defeat Howl were right in front of her. It was kind of funny, but it was exactly what she had asked for.

"I'll help you! Sure!" agreed Chihiro. She will help this apprentice wizard learn his spells, but she will try to learn them as well—especially since she would be the one reading them.

Markyl thrust heavy book onto her lap. The cover was bound in gnarled leather and was almost an inch thick. However, the pages were as thin as bible pages and were coated in a thin layer of dust. They seemed so fragile, that the first page nearly crumbled into dust upon Chihiro's forceful touch.

She felt an eerie qualm as she leafed through the book, as if she was unworthy of touching the spell book. The book itself had no bad aura to it, just old and a little short-tempered. But through her sharpened sixth sense, she could feel the faint whisper of each person who had read the book, and there were many. She could feel the hundreds of sorcerers and sorceresses, witches and wizards, mages and warlocks. She could feel thieves that stole the book and human bookshop owners that probably didn't even know what they had. She felt the good intentions people had to use the book, and the bad intentions, and some good intentions that ended in bad results—those felt worst of all.

All these faint essences were like soft but distinct smells that wrapped seamlessly together like the threads of a tapestry or the muscles that wound together to make the heart. They formed together as one, one entity—the spirit of the book. And she was in direct contact with that spirit right now. It was silently watching her as she clutched the book, and she was readily aware of it.

"Oh, okay…" she began. "Where do I start?"

"Right here, I can't make out this word," said Markyl, pointing to a part of the book.

Chihiro looked down to where his finger was extended. "The kanji is weird…" she muttered. "I'm not sure I'll know how to explain some of these words."

"Just try," replied Markyl, shrugging.

Chihiro began to read down the page, trying to keep her mind in close respect to the spirit of the book.

"This ideogram… well, the first chapter is about… the changing of one thing to another thing more desired: changing pebbles into rice, the secret arts of magic animals changing form, and even tampering with the elements like fire into rock and wood into water…"

"Neat," whispered Markyl, in awe. "Continue."

"The second chapter is about… binding spells and releasing spells…" continued Chihiro. 'The kind I need,' she thought to herself making a mental note to the page.

"Good, good," said Markyl, nodding. "That's what Madame Suliman wanted me to read for palace defense."

"The third…" and here Chihiro squinted at the words that lay thick in the dust but burned in her mind. She could feel the book's spirit breathing on her neck, its noxious saliva dripping down her neck. "Invoking demons."

"When do we start?" whooped Markyl, eager to learn the exciting spells that Chihiro highlighted. Chihiro herself was not too enthusiastic about indulging herself in the book anymore. She was quite fearful of the book and the spirit of the book, and had a feeling that she must consent with it before it harbored itself on her heart.

"Markyl, give me tonight to read the book first."

"Why?" asked Markyl, his voice gargling with disappointment.

"Give me a piece of paper so I can translate this all for you in English," said Chihiro almost in a demanding manner. "The words are too difficult to read like this."

Markyl frowned but handed her a piece of parchment and left the room. Chihiro breathed a sigh of relief, and peered into the pages of the book where the lofty specter lingered. She thought it polite to introduce herself, first.

"My name is Chihiro, and it was uncomfortable to read with you breathing on my neck," said Chihiro placidly while facing the book on her lap although she was sure she felt the spirit's presence all around her.

"_I am the spirit of the book_…" the phantom replied at last, not by sound, for Chihiro could only hear a deathly ringing. The spirit (and she was certain it was a "he"), was tugging at her heart so that it got all its meaning to her. _"I find it entertaining to get to know my readers and their intentions. After all, I am made of wisps of every one of them…"_

"I am not a witch or wizard," continued Chihiro.

"_I can taste your ill-intent anyway_…"

Chihiro bit her lip but maintained her composure. "I am trying to defeat the wizard who trapped me on this bed."

"_Then we have something in common…_" came the spirit's response. "_For my mistress planted me in this house through that boy to extinguish the fire demon that protects the castle and detain the wizard Howl, my mistress' former student…_"

"I see," replied Chihiro, feeling no remorse or sympathy for her captor whatsoever.

"_But you are now the one reading me, and I am interested in you…_"

Chihiro found the book's response unsettling but was almost flattered by it. She has been so desperate for company, and was thankful that she had a book to talk to now. She never particularly liked reading in the past, but she thought it would be interesting reading a magic book.

"I am only trying to escape, book," huffed Chihiro, matter-of-factly. "I only want to break the spell on me and find my friend. I don't wish any harm to come to the wizard."

"_I am but your humble servant, mistress, whatever your intentions be_," answered the book smartly. "_Now, shall we begin with chapter one_?"

"Help me with the pronunciation, here," Chihiro commanded as she began to read with the spirit of the book hanging over her head like a curtain breathing its malignant words into her ears.

………………………………………………

Madame Suliman could hardly contain herself as she sat in her chambers swelling with the pride of her brilliant scheme. It was such a dastardly, naughty plan that tickled her sides and made her grin widely to herself.

The book was such a good, loyal book to her after all these years. It was simple to fool that thick-headed straw of a boy who could never in his life measure up to Howl's caliber. To think that he believed she would ever relinquish her title to the classless urchin! She was disgusted by the very thought.

A crashing sound from the greenhouse broke her scattered laughter and startled her so that she jumped in her wheeling chair. Her hand reached for her heart and hit against the bejeweled pendant upon her breast. She felt the ambition and triumph of her plan drain from her face as she came across a startling notion.

A crash in the greenhouse could only mean someone or something has disarmed the enchantments she soaked the glass with and has broken into the palace.

"Madame Suliman," came a voice from her behind.

She arched her head from her position in the wheeling chair to see one of her glassy-eyed attendants standing behind her.

"Madame Suliman," the blonde haired clone repeated in the usual calm tone and warm smile, no hint of anxiousness or seriousness in the situation. "The castle has been breached," it merely remarked.

"Take me too the greenhouse," Madame Suliman commanded firmly as if to imitate the servant's placid attitude. The usually steadfast sorceress was completely overwrought with fear and shock underneath her face for she was so certain that the extra defense she had placed on the palace would be impossible to break.

She was wheeled to the greenhouse with dread as she passed the lamps were lit in the darkness of the night sky trying to pierce through the transparent glass walls—another intruder we try so hard to avoid. One of the glass walls was shattered from the top, shards scattered about the floor haphazardly. She took no care to avoid puncturing herself with the tiny splinters since she was in a wheel chair and had even less concern for the attendant of her own creation who trudged across the glass with the same indifference.

She could not find the thing that cracked the glass laced with defensive spells, but a tiny glint on the floor amongst the glass caught her eye. She peeled the tiny flake off the floor gingerly and her eyes shot open in recognition and horror. Scattered across the floor along with the shards of glass and tiny drops of crimson blood were the sequin-like scales identical to the one she found on the girl and kept in her office.

"Call his majesty!" she screamed at the attendant. "The bloody beast is still inside here-!"

She stopped when she saw the flash of silver glide across her neck. The dagger was held by the blonde haired attendant who wheeled her into the room.

"What is the meaning of this!?" shouted Madame Suliman.

"Tell me where Chihiro is," demanded the servant holding the dagger.

"W-Who?" croaked the head sorceress of Ingary, her voice faltering with fear. Upon second look at the servant, her eyes whipped open. "You… Y-You're not one of mine-!"

She looked at the servant holding her as its hair darkened and eyes glinted like a serpent. She understood that her captor knew a great deal of magic for creating a disguise so keen that even she did not recognize the servant of her own design as an imposter. It was probably the creature that broke into the palace himself.

"Tell me where she is!" shouted the false-servant again.

Madame Suliman suddenly regained her usual calm composure, although alert at the seriousness of the situation and answered, "To be blatantly honest, I have no idea who you are talking about. Now could you kindly remove your rusty butter-knife from my neck?"

The servant did not abide by her command, but kept it steadily at her throat. "Then the wizard Howl, or Jenkins, or whatever his name is! Tell me where _he_ is!"

"What a rash person," remarked the sorceress to herself but audibly as she casually leaned her head back against the elongated chair.

"Now if I knew where Howl was, I would have captured him for myself long ago…" she admitted almost nostalgically, and her eyes drifting to the distance while she balanced her chin neatly on her knuckles. "I'm afraid you're just going to have to wait in line…"

In the split second that the imposter dropped his guard, Madame Suliman whipped out her staff and bashed her captor's face with its end. He fell backwards, causing the dagger to fly out of his hand and skid across the floor.

Once the imposter came to his senses after the blow to the face, he hastily made a break for the door. However, Madame Suliman intercepted him, and with a wave of her cane, the exit shrunk and became a solid wall.

"I don't think so," she sneered as she encircled her staff clockwise over her head twice and muttered an incantation. Hordes of star demons formed a ring around the intruder; his eyes squinted at the bright intensity of their sparks.

It was like she always taught her students. Use a binding spell to ensnare or disarm and then go for a quick strike to the heart, the center of all magic.

After all, she thought. This was just like the Royal Wizard Academy, and the familiar feeling of exhilaration enthralled her. It reminded her of when she herself was a prim, neatly-dressed student at the Academy and took a trip with her master, Madame Autencio, to the Carpathian Mountains for dragon hunting. Suliman remembered how concerned she was with getting her new traveling gloves stained with the rusty red blood of the fell beasts, how majestic the beasts looked, and how thrilling it was to chase and subdue them.

A particular beast in particular was always so intriguing in her recollection. Suliman remembered cornering the serpent, her student wand at hand, and thirsting for the kill.

However, the old and experienced dragon was too agile for her and slipped away with her fowl—two female twins, if she recalled correctly. Although disappointed that day, she was now, nonetheless, flooded with the same ecstasy as if she were the same school girl.

The execution of intruders was always such a delightful task.

……………………………………………………..

This night, when Howl flew in from the sky and crept into the moving castle through a window Calcifer opened, he was startled to find the lights turned on and his captive wide awake at such an ungodly hour.

"Chihiro," Howl began after staring at the strange sight for quite a bit. "I know I'm not your father and so far I have let you do whatever you want while held captive, but don't you think you should get some sleep?"

Chihiro did not answer, but continued to stare at the wizard as if he was a bizarre creature that scuttled into her room and did not belong.

"Hmmm," Howl murmured as he walked to the side of her bed to dim the lamp. "I can't image what you were possibly doing so late…"

"Y-you have…" Chihiro stuttered, her finger pointing to the wizard and her little body shaking with fear. "…Feathers?"

Howl suddenly understood why Chihiro was so flabbergasted when he glanced down at his body. It seemed he had forgotten to fully transform back into a human as he had downy feathers poking out from the sides of his face and arms as well as long trailing wings dragging along the floor.

"Of course I do," Howl chuckled matter-of-factly, amused that his look was so frightening to the little girl who sat upright on the bed with such wide eyes and agape mouth. "I'm an angel, you know."

Chihiro's mouth snapped shut and her face shot up, flushing, which made Howl guffaw loudly, his feathers shaking with each cry.

"I jest, I jest," he said, wiping a tear from his eye. "You just looked so frightened."

"I wasn't scared," insisted Chihiro.

"Very well, but in most concerned seriousness, what are you doing up so late?"

Chihiro, her heart beating at the feel of the spell book she had been studying underneath her mattress, put on her best poker-face and said, "I had a bad dream."

"Oh?" said Howl, raising his feathered eyebrow. "And what did you dream about?"

"I was trapped on a bed by the most aggravating wizard who was too afraid of his wife to let me go," snapped Chihiro.

But Howl just laughed at Chihiro's statement, making her wish he would just become angry rather than amused. Seeing that Chihiro did not need the spell recast upon her, Howl left the room without another word. Chihiro's heart was screaming lividly, an obstreperous animal thumping madly and banging the cage that encased it. It longed to be free, and it longed to be with its other half—with Haku. It was dying and growing sicker by the minute because a part of it was gone. A huge chunk of it had been torn out of its side, and she wept for her lost, sorry for herself and her predicament. With each lugubrious, fat drop of bitter water that sloshed out of her eyes, she grew dead set on escaping and dead set on revenge.

"Spell book," Chihiro called to the heavy hardback under her bed with tears in her eyes—enough running down her cheek and splashing into her throat to make her gargle as she spoke.

"_Mistress_?" it answered to her call when she whipped it out from under the covers.

"I want to study your pages. I want to break the spell on me… I want to leave here. I want my mom and dad, and I want to see Haku…" she cried gently as if she were a child.

"_I understand_," the book answered respectfully.

"I… w-want to know… how to pluck an angel's wings," she moaned, rubbing her wet face with her arm. She clenched her teeth as she clutched the tattered book.

"_Yes, my mistress_," the book repeated.

"Where did I leave off?" muttered Chihiro, trying to regain herself, but failing miserably.

"_The bottom of the right hand page_," the book answered promptly. "_There are just a few more sentences before the end of chapter 1. Do you think you are ready to try out the spells_?"

"Y-yes I am," Chihiro replied, rubbing her eyes. "I-I want to first use the magic to signal my friends."

"_It is difficult for a fledgling neophyte to perform magic of this level_," the book admitted. "_I suggest first trying a simple transformation_."

Chihiro nodded in agreement and took some time to think about what she was about to transform. There had to be an easy way to contact her friends without the wizard knowing. She glanced around the room as if to find the answer amongst the four walls that surrounded her when she noticed a peculiar crack in the wall at the corner opposite from her. It looked like it was formed by erosion damage, and was about the size of the spell book.

"You know… I bet a cat can fit through there. If there was a way to attract my friend Muta into this room through that hole?"

"_Perhaps_," answered the spirit of the book. "_But you must figure out what this Muta character fancies enough to draw him into this room_."

"That's easy," said Chihiro abruptly, with a smile. She knew him long enough to figure out more than what he "fancied." "He likes food."

With no second to loose, Chihiro grasped the empty soup bowl she left on her lamp desk and held it towards the spell book. "I want to change this bowl into a cooked fish. Is that something I can do?"

The book almost did the impression of a grimace, which was not physical—Chihiro only felt it sag with disapproval upon her statement. "_It's not a matter whether or not you can or cannot do it_…" the book explained. "_It's whether or not you __believe__ that you can do it_."

"If I believe…" muttered Chihiro, tasting the word in her mouth.

"_Magic is one part words and one part heart_," the book continued. "_Never underestimate the power of words, but also never underestimate the power of sheer force of will_. _Spells are just commands that can be bluntly stated in any language. They are just empty mimicries of true magic put into crude human tongue—the purest of spells are spoken in the language of the heart. It's just the same way I am speaking to you now. Have you noticed that I am talking to you although I have no lips?"_

"I have," acknowledged Chihiro, putting her hand upon her chest. "It's like I feel you right here, and I know what you are trying to tell me."

"_That's exactly right_," exclaimed the congratulatory book. "_And that is the way you should go about it. Wizards nowadays just muddle magic up_. _Even the most renowned wizards who perform spells without words are just chanting it in their heads. That's the wrong way to do it. But, of course, I permit you to do it since you are a beginner and it would come easier to you._"

"It's an easy thing after all," agreed Chihiro, turning the soup bowl over in her hands. "It's just a solid bowl that will turn into a solid fish so I'm sure it will let me. It's not like I'm changing it into a liquid."

"_That is just the right thinking_," praised the book. "_Now try the words_."

Chihiro took a deep breath and closed her eyes—as if to amplify her concentration. She felt the soup bowl vibrate warmly in her hands, as she pushed all her intentions and wantings into the soup. 'I want it to turn into a fish. I want it to attract Muta. I want Muta to come and warn the others of the wizard Howl,' she chanted in her head.

"_That's good. That's good_," she heard the book whisper beside her. The bowl was pulsating in her hands as if her blood was flowing through her veins and circulated the bowl and back into her again.

'I want to learn magic. I want to escape from here. I want to defeat Howl. I want to go home. I want to see Haku,' she continued, urging her sickly, mire-like half heart to press on. And then, her heart stopped in a moment of hesitation. Where was Haku? Why hadn't he come for her? After waiting for so long, why hasn't he rescued her?

"_Concentrate! Concentrate_!" the book commanded sharply. But it was too late, the book's voice grew faint in Chihiro's heart as her beating grew louder, trying to beat the encroaching muck that attempted to swallow it hole. '_No_,' Chihiro gasped, trying to beat and push upward from the sticky stuff engulfing her. Luckily, the swallowing process was halted abruptly as she felt the contorted thing in her hands fry and sizzle. She knew had to say the words quickly, before the connection was lost.

"_Suupuyo suupuyo sashimi ni nare_," she chanted before she yelped and dropped the scalding object onto the floor. Her eyes opened up and her connection to the thing lost and she could no longer feel the sticky stuff eating at her heart. But she was exhausted from having to struggle with it.

"This spell Howl put on me is awful," she panted as she flung back on her bed in exhaustion.

"_Never mind that. It's your own hatred, anyway,_" snapped the book. "_Look over the bed! What did it become_?"

Chihiro was taken aback by the book's curt command as well as confused at what the book had said. However, the obliged to his demand and rolled over to her side to look at what used to be the bowl.

It was not a fish—at least as not one would expect. Chihiro thought she had burnt it, seeing as it was a charcoal brown and gnarled with dehydration. However, the smell and rough texture was different from that of a burnt fish, and it took her a while to realize that rather than a slab of fish, she had created a slab of beef instead.

"Oooo" she moaned, as she reclined back on her bed, leaving the beef slab on the floor. "I made a slab of beef… that is so weird. It would be funny if I wasn't so tired…"

"_It's a marvelous attempt for someone who has never performed magic in her whole life_," commended the book. "_Truly marvelous. Even in your hesitation, you only made it a different sort of meat_."

"I don't think I can do that again," said Chihiro, her brow sweating as she continued to stare up at the ceiling. "Now how am I going to call Muta-?"

Both the book and Chihiro stopped short at a strange noise that broke the silence. At first, Chihiro thought she had awakened the wizard Howl who would bound into the room, discover the ruse, and take the book away from her leaving her with no chance of escape. However, she realized the sound was coming from low to the ground and opposite the bed—a scratching noise right next to the crack in the corroded wall.

The smell of the beef was so strong; its smoke wafted around the room and made Chihiro squint. She really thought she had attracted Muta, until she saw a large red nose pop out from the hole…

"It's an old dog!" exclaimed Chihiro in surprise to the wooly creature that shuffled into the room. Its stout body waddled across the room, its mustache dragging along the floor. The dog wheezed as it sniffed for the meat and, once found the prize, proceeded to gnaw upon the knotty steak. Chihiro could not but stare in dismay as it was a peculiar looking mutt indeed. She was expecting Muta so badly... and she got this… hairy thing that could hardly be called a dog.

Chihiro was struck with an idea, and hastily scrawled Japanese lettering on the piece of paper Markyl had given her.

"It may not be Muta," she said as she continued to scratch along the parchment. "But it will help me deliver this note to my friends."

"_How do you know this hound does not belong to the wizard_?" the book asked with uncertainty. "_It would probably go to its master immediately—a usual thing for mongrels such as this_."

"Well, _whoever_ receives the note will have to help me," replied Chihiro as she tucked the letter into the collar of the shaggy dog. "And if it's Howl, then I'll just have to take my chances. Scat!" she hollered at the dog which sneezed and wheezed as it waddled out of the room through the crack in the wall.

Uncertain that the dog will return and with her first plan a failure, Chihiro opened the spell book once again to start the second chapter: the chapter that deals with breaking the spell on her bed.

…………………………………….

R&R


	9. In which a spell is broken

Hey guys, sorry for the delay! I swear I'd write more once my classes stop sucking.

…which is probably going to be a never…

Also, I have a deviantart account now and I posted a pic pertaining to this story here:

burnticeslushieDOTdeviantartDOTcom/art/An-untold-story-69764695

Just remove the dots and add periods and see my sketchy illustration for this pic. I'll post some more illustrations… later… because, well, see above.

Chapter 9: In which a spell is broken ………………………………….

After spending several nights at the moving castle, Haru discovered many oddities of the abode. Enough to, perhaps, compile a list.

The first, being the most obvious, was that the head of the house, the wizard Howl, was never home, a revelation that confounded and frustrated Baron greatly.

"Markyl, where does Howl go all the time?" asked Haru at some time in her stay.

"Who knows…" replied Markyl wistfully as he arranged a plethora of dry herbs with magical properties.

"Why doesn't Sophie worry about him?"

"Oh, she does," answered Markyl. "More than she lets on, actually."

"She must be very lonely," remarked Haru. "…without her husband."

"Well, sometimes I feel it's for the better," replied Markyl as he tied up a bunch of fat, hairy looking roots that resembled caterpillars. "They're really dangerous together, and they always argue so much. The castle echoes loudly with their fights, and I hate that."

Markyl stuffed the roots back into a drawstring bag, and with a wave of his hand, the bag whisked into a cubby hole in the wall alongside other bags.

"I'll be upstairs if you need me, but I'll be practicing my spells so… _try_ not to need me," snapped Markyl with a grimace and a little coldly.

Haru wondered how long they would be able to stay before one party or the other grows more annoyed and snaps.

The second thing Haru noticed was that the castle was perpetually dirty—and in a most unusual sense. There was hardly a time that she could not find Sophie sweeping and dusting away. It was almost peculiar to see such a single-minded women so bent on unleashing her wrath upon the filthy commodities. One would think she would finish her work eventually, but the woman never stopped cleaning and the floor never stopped dirtying.

"Sophie, maybe you should take a break," Haru offered at one moment in her time.

But Sophie just looked up and grinned. "Do you need me to make lunch early? Or do you want Markyl to go show you around Market Chipping?"

"I want you to stop," Haru repeated. "If anything, I should be helping you. You're pregnant, after all, and I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to strain your body when you are in this state."

"I've been in many 'states' before, but I never stop cleaning," Haru heard her mumble, but decided not to inquire as to the meaning of the statement. She knew it would be a bit forward of her, but she would have to be a tad inhospitable in order to stop the madly clean woman.

"You told me about Star Lake once, Sophie," Haru started. "Can I see it?"

"I'll get Markyl to show you," Sophie answered eagerly.

"No, he's upstairs," replied Haru. "He told me he's working on something."

"He's spending an awful lot of time upstairs!" huffed Sophie. "I wonder if he's keeping Lettie locked up there or something! It's the very thing Howl would do, actually!"

"Well," Haru replied. "I think he's more responsible than Howl, anyway."

Sophie looked at her in surprise as if unsure of what to say, but then she beamed widely.

"That's right! That's exactly right! O Great Suliman's knickers, that's the smarts!" Sophie commended, bursting into laughter. "Head upstairs and borrow a bathing suit from my clothes chest! We'll go to that Star Lake before it misses us!" Haru found herself shuffling upstairs at ends at what to say, what to think, what to do.

Third thing Haru noticed about the castle:

The occupants were very odd indeed.

…………………….

Chihiro awoke upon a hard surface but was disheartened when she opened her eyes. She never thought she'd see the day when she would wake up groggily hoping that she had fallen off the bed. But, strangely, she was not offered such luck.

The hard surface she was sleeping on was not the hardwood floors, but the sturdy book, its pages cradling her face causing inky words to press against her left cheek. She faintly recalled falling asleep somewhere in the middle of the third chapter.

She attempted to call the intangible voice of the book, but was unable to feel its tug upon her heart. She considered the notion that she had overworked her sparse magical abilities last night and did not even have enough power to muster a conversation with the spirit any longer. She was just too exhausted.

What made her so tired last night? Oh yes, she turned the soup bowl into a steak. A dog waddled in, and she tied a note to it on a piece of paper…

"Oh no," gasped Chihiro, in realization. "The paper!" She had forgotten that it had been given to her jailer, Markyl. She had forgotten she was supposed to translate the spells on that paper. If Markyl were to enter in to serve her breakfast soup, he will certainly become suspicious if the paper vanished from an enclosed and bespelled room that no one could enter.

"I have to break the spell, without the book's help. And right now," she mumbled to herself, fingering the book clumsily. She could scarcely hold it still enough to read for she was trembling with haste.

"Let's see, don't think of words, just think of thoughts," she reminded herself before beginning.

"A binding spell ensnares a wizard physically, but to break a binding spell cast upon oneself, one simply needs to free their heart…" Chihiro recited. "Visualize the ecstasy of freedom or the will to break loose. The Standard Arm Flex Maneuver is recommended as well as Arabian Crystal Sheers…"

Chihiro laid the book aside and loosened her arms, unsure of how to position (her book did not have the footnotes to explain the "Standard Arm Flex Maneuver" or how to obtain such "Arabian Sheers.") It seemed so easy in fairy tales; "then she broke the spell and lived happily ever after." But she shook her head; her life was not to be a fairy tale. It was no easy game tricking a wizard and studying until her brain was numb in order to break a spell. There was magic, but not the nice kind she read about in books. This magic was a matter of survival and escape. And above all, there was no prince in shining army to come and rescue her. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

The feeling when she was most free? That was easy, for she remembered it vividly. It was when she was flying on the back of Haku, the feel of his cool scales on her bare legs, the wind tussling her brown hair, her eyes squinting and tearing from the feeling.

Her heart was in the sky, and her body went along with her. A numbness drifted across her body from her toes as she lost the feeling of her physical body. She could no longer remember if she was sitting or lying down, if she was still sleeping with the book pressed on her face, if she was outside splashing with Haru in a pristine lake, if she was embracing Haku or riding on his back.

She felt as if submerged in water, unable to determine how close or far the four walls around her were. They seemed so close that she could almost touch them with her fingertips. She was so sure that if she kept pressing her feelings, she could break open those walls. She can already hear the loud explosion of her breaking through them in a few hours after the bed's spell was broken. She lost track of time and space. It was like forgetting who her name was again, was she Sen again or still Chihiro? It didn't matter, for this time, she had someone waiting for her behind the walls. Someone glowing with his own light.

"_Kanashibari yo tokero chichinnpuipui_…" she chanted to the bed. She suddenly felt a tremendous weight lift from her, as if she was fished out of water. Chihiro immediately sat up and stretched her muscles and rubbed her sore joints which hardened from sitting for so long. Although she was much eager to jump out of the bed and rush out the door, she knew that the doors were locked and she did not even bother with getting out of the bed.

"Just a few more pages, just a few more pages," she said as if to calm herself. She flipped through the book once more. "I have to prepare for my escape—an explosion spell, and one to protect myself from Howl once I get out."

She brushed the inky vertical characters that introduced the subject of the following chapter with her index finger.

"Invoking demons…" she mumbled, and a thought pierced her confusion like a needle through a pincushion and released a flood of overwhelming emotions at the very thought. She teared up a little more as she chuckled and choked and sighed. "Maybe I can bring Haku to me after all."

……………………………………

Madame Sulliman had been fighting the invader since dawn, and the large clock tower that overlooked Kingsburry had already chimed ten o'clock. She was incredibly fatigued, her usually kept hair in wild disarray as she swooped once again to the imposter dopple-danger to deliver another blast of heated magic.

She also suspected a tear at the side of her dress as the coolness of the air delivered its own meager spite upon a gaping wound to her side which stung terribly. But she could not be sure of this while fighting for she never came upon a chance to even glance down at her wound, let alone heal or reinforce it with spells. If a student had been fighting in her place, she would have criticized her own sloppy indifference to the gash (for if the heart was the center of magic, it was foolish to leave an exit for the magic to flow out anywhere in your body), but knew solely from her inability to do so that the circumstance was growing dire.

She had, however, inflicted some decent wounds upon the invader: a good tear into his shoulder where her staff's strike missed the heart and one of his legs were crushed from when she magicked the tile flooring to melt underneath the imposter, envelope around his leg, and ground upon his femur with a loud "crunch." Surprisingly, he pressed onward, even with the broken leg, leading Madame Suliman to wonder at what cause had he to fight with such determination.

But neither surrendered and both kept at it with full power until they were heaving from exhaustion.

"Give up now, whoever you are, before we both kill ourselves," gasped Madame Suliman.

"I won't leave until you tell me where the wizard Howl is!" he repeated, and Madame Suliman groaned with frustration at the request he continued to rattle.

"Why are you so keen on my foolish apprentice?" asked Madame Suliman after dodging slivers of scales that sliced past her. Several deep slashes upon her robed body already taught her mind how to avoid those without even giving a thought.

"He has stolen something from me," the imposter snarled admittedly.

'You and me, both,' thought Suliman as she fought on. From the moment she saw Howl, she immediately requested that her uncle enroll him into the academy. Once there, she watched Howl with a childlike delight, his enormous power fluttering in her hands. Everyday, she waited patiently like a serpent in the grass, waiting for her little fledgling to learn his spells and swell with power until she could harness his power and wield it. It ignited old ambitions in her cold, dry heart as she watched him grow and mature. For the first time in many years, she remembered how it felt to be powerful and young, as if she could do anything—become court-appointed sorceress, the most powerful witch in the world, the true ruler of Ingary beneath the mask of the crown.

And then he ran away, and robbed her of all her ambitions, her renewed hopes, her newly ignited dreams. And when she thought she almost had him, he went and married, leaving her in this destitution—an old crone trapped in the castle and forced to laughably entertain his majesty while never rekindling her pursuit of power, never returning to the academy to continue her reign over the unruly scum called "students" and bovine "faculty," never even getting to do _this_ anymore.

She lifted her two fingers up with great delicacy as if balancing a pin atop of them and made a gentle slash mark in the air. As a result of the tiny gesture, the imposter's face sliced into ribbons, crimson blood screaming out of the thick, red gashes.

"Gotcha," said Suliman who once again attempted to encase the imposter with her star children who danced in a dizzying and haunting circle. She was about to raise her staff and strike at his heart, but was stopped as the person started shifting and changing.

"W-What _are_ you?" she croaked in horror at the creature whose skin erupted into tiny sickle-like fragments that clinked upon the floor and walls. Its body stretched and expanded into a familiar form. "I see. Cornered, the dragon finally emerges from its physical den," she chuckled unable to mask the hint of fear in her voice.

The beast, still not fully transformed, continued to stare at her with its snake eyes. Soon enough, standing before the sorceress was a giant serpent with ivory scales and long, green tendrils. Its talons pierced through the tiling on the floor, and it bared its teeth as if to show Suliman its jagged carnassials.

Yes, it was different from the mountain dragons she hunted for her science project. It had no wings or firmly jointed legs, and its sinuous body was covered in mammalian hair. It had, as she expected, the thin, maneuverable body which contributed to this species' taking to the water to avoid mass extinction. And most noteworthy were its eyes. Unlike the dull, stupid glint in the eyes of the dragons she had seen, there was something keen and cunning that swirled behind this dragon's pupils as if it knew her inside out.

Under the dragon's watchful eye, Madame Suliman took the time to examine herself. As she expected, her throbbing side was split open, and a distressful red was streaming down her waist. The rest of her body was tattered, and her old bones were aching from the shock of the fight. But the most frightening aspect was the dwindling potency of her magic, a raging wildfire of energy now a flickering candle about to snuff out. This upset her, for only a few times in her life has she felt so vulnerable… so afraid.

The dragon coiled itself around her body, knowing full well the sorceress' vulnerable state.

"I guess I am at my end…" Suliman chuckled, staring at the distant window, her face growing grim. At this final moment of peace, she found herself piecing together the identity of this dragon, for she was sure she had seen it before. She concluded, with a trifle of irony gnawing at the back of her spine, that the dragon enslaved by the witch Yubaba (she recognized both the servant and dragon forms). He must have been sent to find Howl or to punish Suliman for failing to comply. However, the reason as to why he went as far as to killing her, she would probably never know.

"I know this may sound selfish, but I had not expected dying yet," admitted Suliman with a faltering voice for she could feel the dragon's breath upon her now pale cheek. "It is understandable, however. I am an old witch, but I had so hoped upon trying to catch Howl another day, to feel the wisps of his power in my grasps as he flies away."

A gruff barking broke the tension of Madame Suliman's eulogy, but the howls came not from Cerberus though sure she was at hell's gate.

The dragon turned its massive, whiskered head towards the sound which resonated from Madame Suliman's crystal ball. Her faithful mutt Heen was barking from the insides of the glowing sphere.

"Heen?" croaked the witch with affection. "Come to bid me farewell, you little traitor?"

The dog continued to bark as the dragon cocked its head at the little image. Tied upon the mongrel's neck was a piece of parchment and Japanese lettering in a hand the dragon alone could recognize.

At the sight of the familiar writing, the dragon shrank back to its human disguise to glower at the ball more closely. He grasped its smooth surface in his pale hands.

"This is-! Where-?" he stammered. But the dog continued to bark indecipherably. The imposter's eyes continued to search the ball for clues until he spotted a window in back of the dog which held a little fragment of sea.

"The port? But I searched everywhere there! And I even put a tracer on that girl-!"

"Ah, so it was to my expectation," chuckled Suliman. "However, I removed it from the girl and led you here. Don't you see? You will never catch _my_ Howl, not Howl of the Moving Castle!"

"Moving!?" spat the imposter. "So that's why-!"

But before he could finish his thought, Madame Suliman thrust her staff towards the direction of the imposter and the glass ball which shattered into pieces. The imposter dodged the flying shards quickly, but was pinned down to the floor by a gaunt and lugubrious demon that emerged, shrieking, from the center of the ball.

The dark eyed imposter kicked his heels up at the demon's face whose form splattered into the air like grease upon water. The beast, with the slimy remains of the demon still latched upon his feet, reverted back to dragon form and reared its body high to escape through the glass ceiling.

"No-!" Suliman shouted while continuously blasting the air around the escaping dragon. However, the dragon had succeeded and its ribbon-like form danced freely into the wind.

Suliman was left alone, disheveled and fatigued in her tattered dress, to the silence of the empty greenhouse surrounded by tiny glass splinters and splotches of blood with the messy brawl.

At this time a blonde servant (one who actually was one of her servants) hastily hustled entered the greenhouse with a broom, bandages, and a charming smile.

"And whatever took _you_ so long?" scowled Suliman to the sweeping servant feeling utterly annoyed with herself for not killing the dragon. But the servant only glanced up and grinned widely to make Suliman flush with revulsion.

"Ha-!" spat Suliman as she sliced her hand across the air.

The servant looked up, its smile completely vanished from its face and its glassy eyes grew so wide one would have thought that they were actually flooded with fear when its body and the broom grasped in its hand were sliced into half. The boy's upper half and the gnarled tip of the broom tumbled onto the floor so quickly that the lower half still remained in a standing position, its hands still firmly clenching the broom.

Once both halves of the servant collapsed to the glittering floor, Suliman felt less frustrated with herself and promptly ordered another servant who entered the room to clean up its fallen and disemboweled brother.

"Yes, and tell his majesty that I'll be out for the day to hunt for the perpetrator," reminded Suliman as she waved her hands and ordered the cleaning servants about. "Appoint more demons around the castle's defense in case he returns. And fetch me my zipper."

"Right here, ma'am," answered a servant who bowed and handed Suliman a tiny chip no bigger than a guitar piece.

"Thank you," replied Suliman as she took this piece and drew it downwards through the air. The air split in two, and a small gap loomed in front of her in between the two ends she drew the zipper down. Inside its gaping wound were the bustling streets and smoky buildings.

"Such a shame for this old woman," muttered Suliman. "I've never been able to catch them… not even in my teenage years…" And with that, she stepped into the wound and disappeared.

……………………………………

Haru splashed her feet in the icy water as little guppies and tadpoles nipped at her toes. She let out a sigh and continued to laze about the pebbly shore feeling so at peace that she wondered if she had fallen into the Cat Kingdom once again.

A sigh came from besides her and she recognized it as Sophie's who looked uncomfortable at not being inside cleaning but strangely gratified that she did step out. Both girls were clad in the bathing suits Sophie kept in a small chest beside her bed. Actually, they were far from the bathing suits Sophie was accustomed to as they were frilly and light-weight dresses that went down to her ankles. It took a while for Sophie to get accustomed to their weight while in the water, but realized that after a while it was a pleasurable experience. She felt like a floating angel with tethering wings that fluttered through the water.

"Haru?"

"Mm?"

"This was a great idea," cooed Sophie breathlessly.

Haru did not even have to agree, but she rolled to her side and sighed once more.

"Always so much cleaning," Sophie continued. "It never ends. I guess I'm fated to clean forever."

"You care about people," Haru half-muttered, not bothering to open her eyes.

"Yes, but… I don't know," mumbled Sophie as she kicked her feet in the water.

Haru's mind was too committed upon the pristine lake that enraptured her soul and set her to ease. Similarly, it was only a matter of time before Sophie forgot what she had been mumbling about and soaked in the fresh pine air. Dragonflies buzzed through the water like little airships, challenging each other in matches as they zigzagged through the air.

"This is a remarkable lake," Sophie noted after a while. "It always brings me such peace…"

"Yeah," agreed Haru. "Why is it called Star Lake, anyway?"

"Well from what Markyl told me…" began Sophie as she sat upright in her suit which was crinkly and firm from the dried water. "This lake was actually made by a fleet of wizards by order of the princess of Ingary at that time. The princess was baptized in this lake on a night where the water reflected the starry sky and seemed to bathe her in shimmering light.

"But the royalty must have forgotten about this place…" answered Sophie as she glanced around at the forest and then towards the castle. "I have yet to see anyone come here. It's such a shame, but I suppose it's better for Howl."

Howl again, thought Haru upon the name. The word seemed to pop up more often than the wizard himself. Sophie flinched at the name she uttered as well, and her usually talkative mouth snapped shut. Haru saw this and perceived what Markyl said to be true, that Sophie did miss her husband terribly but hardly spoke of it.

"He'll be back soon," Haru consoled, although she was unsure herself. "I'm sure-!"

A loud explosion rang in the ears of the two girls followed by a small tremor that shook the earth and swept through their bodies, toppling them over. The lake rippled and shivered and dragonflies and birds darted frantically.

"That sounded like it came from the castle," said Sophie grimly with fear dripping in her voice.

The two nodded and bolted across the grass towards the smoldering castle and were struck with dismay at the sight. One side of the castle was blown open and metal sheets and junk cluttered the side of the wound. Smoke drifted up from the sides of the hole and curled like a slithering snake in the air as bits of paper and debris flickered in the wind like insects.

They ran frantically towards the castle, kicking their bare heels with the ends of their bathing suits fluttering behind them. They left their stuff at the lake.

……………………………………………………….

"_Da doon pa doon! Mahou yo ano kabe ni ana akero_!

Upon the utterance of the spell, an unseen force struck the wall in front of Chihiro which shook and groaned like a man suddenly overcome with sickness and about to double over. True enough, the wall erupted from within and exploded upon impact.

Chihiro coughed at the smoke and dust from the collapsed wall, and held her ears at the awful ringing noise she heard after the loud bang. She regretted standing so close to the wall she made explode.

"I-It worked…" she wheezed, but stopped as dust was attacking her throat and making her head dizzy.

"What happened? Calcifer!" she heard Markyl's voice holler in the smoke.

"I can't believe it! My castle's been breached!" hissed the fire, but at the erupting cloud of dust, it dropped its angered tone and whined hysterically, "The smoke! I'll go out! Do something!"

Chihiro heard the rattle of something being grabbed and then a loud whooshing noise as the smoke and air around her was being sucked towards the voices. When the air was cleared, she saw Markyl holding a jar into which the dust was being sucked into like a vortex. With the dust gone, Markyl and Calcifer stood staring at the little girl in the middle of the debris in disbelief.

"How did-?"

Before Markyl could even finish his statement, Chihiro had recovered from the shock and flashed her palm at Markyl and said her spell so quickly in defense that she almost bit her tongue.

"_Supo you no supuun_…"

Markyl's eyes widened and dilated as he cocked his head like a marionette whose strings were severed. His gangly body grew limp and thin while his orange-haired head flattened like a pancake until he turned into a small, thin rod of metal. When at last he had no legs, what used to Markyl collapsed on the floor with a "tinktinktink" patter. He had become a spoon.

Howl's fire demon stared flabbergasted at Markyl and Chihiro, who clutched the heavy book on her hands. When he finally came to, he hollered, "Howl! Howl! The girl is escaping, and she bewitched Markyl!"

"Get out of my way," grunted Chihiro as she put on her shoes that had been flung at opposite ends of the hallway from the explosion.

"You think you can get out so easily!?" cried Calcifer as steam billowed out of his mouth. "Out of the castle I guard!? I am the despicable fire demon, Calcifer!" he proclaimed. "And when Howl gets here-!"

"Let him stop me then!" snarled Chihiro with her tiny yellow sneakers clenched in one hand and the spoon that was the apprentice named Markyl in the other. "Go ahead, stop me," she goaded.

Calcifer was taken aback and just gaped his mouth like a fish.

"I'm leaving, then," announced Chihiro as she flung the spoon into the fire pit next to Calcifer. "I'm leaving, if you're not going to stop me."

But Calcifer and Chihiro stopped to listen to cacophonous sounds from outside the castle. Chihiro peered over the hole she had made in the wall, and was rejoiced to see Haru come bounding towards the Castle alongside Sophie, the wife of the wizard. She was about to cry with joy at Haru until she saw wide shadow sweep over the two girls trampling across the grassy hill. The shadow was in the shape of a large lark or swift but was the size of an adult human. Surely enough, Chihiro squinted at the sun to see the dreaded shape of Howl come careening down the sky like a dart released into the air and about to swiftly meet its target while barely making a noise.

Chihiro groaned. It never came easy, did it?

……………………………………………….

The two girls huffed as they trampled across the grass spraying dew at their heels, their dresses fluttering behind them as if to keep up.

As a shadow swept across the field quick as a dart and briefly engulfed Sophie in its grasp, Sophie's pointed shoes skid to a halt on the slippery terrain and she turned her head upward to the familiar shape in the sky.

"Howl!"

True enough, the winged Howl shot down from the sky and perched onto the edge of the hole in the castle caused by the explosion and entered in. Haru could see even from Sophie's back that the woman was fuming with rage.

"When I get my hands on that Howl!" she hollered towards the castle. "He's dead! That man is dead!"

"Sophie, wait-!"

But the older woman had trudged off muttering curses into the misty air. Haru trailed behind eager to see the following events come into place.

……………………………………….

R&R

Once again, my pic is here:

burnticeslushieDOTdeviantartDOTcom/art/An-untold-story-69764695

Go ahead and leave a comment! I'm trying to be a better artist AND writer!


End file.
